Technology reporter Karen Hao said artificial intelligence companies, specifically OpenAI, are amassing political and economic power that threatens democratic institutions [1].
These claims highlight a growing tension between rapid technological advancement and global human rights. Hao said that the current trajectory of AI development does not just disrupt industries but actively creates a new form of colonialism by exploiting resources and labor in the Global South.
During a July 3 broadcast for the U.S. public-affairs program Democracy Now!, Hao said how the AI industry relies on systemic exploitation [1]. She pointed to data-labeling farms in Kenya where workers face exploitative conditions to refine AI models [1]. This labor provides the essential human feedback required for the systems to function, yet the benefits remain concentrated in the U.S.
Environmental costs also feature in Hao's critique. She cited water-extraction projects in Chile tied to the production of AI hardware [1]. These projects illustrate how the physical infrastructure of the "cloud" depends on the depletion of local natural resources in developing nations.
Hao focused specifically on OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, describing the organization's growth as an empire [1]. She said the concentration of power within a few private firms allows them to dictate global norms without democratic oversight or accountability.
This critique suggests that the "intelligence revolution" is built upon a foundation of old imperial patterns—extracting raw materials and cheap labor from one region to enrich another [1]. The broadcast, published July 3 and aired as a July 4 special, frames the issue as a fundamental struggle for digital sovereignty [1].
“AI companies, specifically OpenAI, are amassing political and economic power that threatens democratic institutions.”
The transition of AI from a laboratory curiosity to a global infrastructure allows a small number of private entities to exert influence over sovereign nations. By linking data labeling in Kenya and hardware production in Chile to the success of U.S. firms, Hao frames AI not as a neutral tool, but as a geopolitical instrument that may exacerbate existing global inequalities.
