From historical colonialism to data colonialism

reflections on the relationship between Big Data and the subject

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.21728/logeion.2023v10n1.p75-90

Keywords:

Data Colonialism, Automated Surveillance, Digital Oligopolies, Power Asymmetry, Social Impacts

Abstract

The central proposal of this paper is to reflect on how the relationship between big data and the contemporary subject, exploring the concept of "data colonialism". The study seeks to analyze the similarities between data relationships in today's society and historical colonialism, examining the social, political, and economic implications of this dynamic. The authors argue that data colonialism involves the universal extraction and management of data from people, resulting in a new social order based on constant tracking. It aims to analyze how data colonialism involves the extraction of resources, represented by people's personal data, which are collected, stored, and used by companies for various economic purposes. This phenomenon is supported by an ideology that promotes the collection and use of data as something beneficial and necessary, creating an environment where individuals are encouraged to share their data without fully understanding the implications. Furthermore, the paper discusses the role of capitalism in data relationships, highlighting how capitalism affirms the identity of the self as a unique reference point, but also essential elements of the continuity and transformation of the self by installing automated surveillance in the space of the self. The study also addresses the importance of personal identity as an essential element, emphasizing the need to abandon the claim of an absolute universality that characterizes data colonialism.

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Author Biographies

  • Fabiano Couto Corrêa da Silva, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS)

    Docente da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) desde 2018, onde realiza atividades de ensino, pesquisa, extensão e gestão. Atua nos cursos de graduação de Biblioteconomia presencial e à distância, e na linha de pesquisa Informaçao e Ciência do Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação (PPGCIN), orientando pesquisas sobre Gestão de Dados Científicos, Produção Científica, Aprendizagem Colaborativa e Ciência Aberta. Foi professor da Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (2008-2018), onde coordenou o Curso de Biblioteconomia e foi editor da Revista Biblos. Graduado em Biblioteconomia pela Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul (2002), mestre em Ciência da Informação com bolsa CAPES pela Universidade Federal de Santa Catarina (2008) e doutor com bolsa CNPq em Información y documentación en la Sociedad del Conocimiento (2017) pela Universitat de Barcelona (Sobresaliente Cum Laude). Foi coordenador do serviço de atendimento da Biblioteca Central da Universidade de Satna Cruz do Sul (2003-2008). Exerce cargos administrativos de impacto social e acadêmico, incluindo a liderança de grupos de pesquisa, além de consultorias ad-hoc para a CAPES, CNPq e IBICT. Membro da Associação Nacional de Pesquisa e Pós-Graduação em Ciência da Informação (ANCIB). É consellheiro e gestor da Biblioteca e projetos de incentivo à leitura junto ao Instituto Misturaí, uma Organização da Sociedade eCivil (OSC) sem fins lucrativos.

  • Thalia da Silva Pires, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

    Undergraduate student in Librarianship at the Faculty of Library Science and Communication (FABICO) at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS). She is part of the Extension Program, Lighthouse: Information Connections of the Department of Information Sciences (DCI) UFRGS, as a scholarship holder. She was scholarship holder of Scientific Initiation in the project of Academic Interaction ICBS/PESQUISA DETECÇÃO VÍRUS SARS-COV-2. Currently she is a library assistant at La Salle educational network.

  • Lucas George Wendt, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Sul

    Master's student in the Graduate Program in Information Science - PPGCIN at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul - UFRGS. I am also a specialist in Institutional Communication at the Faculdade de Desenvolvimento do Rio Grande do Sul - Fadergs (2021); Bachelor in Librarianship at the Universidade de Caxias de Sul - UCS (2021); and Bachelor in Journalism at the Universidade do Vale do Taquari - Univates (2017). I am active in the following research groups DataLab: Data Laboratory, Institutional Metrics and Scientific Reproducibility (CNPq/UFRGS); Evolutionary History of Vertebrates research group (CNPq/UFRGS); LabCI: Context and Information Open Laboratory (CNPq/Unir) and in Necit: Center for Studies in Science, Innovation and Technology (CNPq/UFRGS). I am elected secretary to the board of the Brazilian Network of Science Journalists and Communicators - RedeComCiência (Management 2023/2024). Professionally I am a press officer at Univates. I am interested in communication and science, especially in the following topics: science communication, information metrics, history of science, paleontology, scientific dissemination. E-mail: lucas.george.wendt@gmail.com.

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Published

30/08/2023

Issue

Vol. 10 No. 1 (2023)

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Artigos

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How to Cite

From historical colonialism to data colonialism : reflections on the relationship between Big Data and the subject. Logeion: Filosofia da Informação, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, v. 10, n. 1, p. 75–90, 2023. DOI: 10.21728/logeion.2023v10n1.p75-90. Disponível em: https://revista.ibict.br/fiinf/article/view/6481.. Acesso em: 22 jul. 2024.

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