Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly large language models like OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has rapidly become a global cultural and informational force. Yet beneath the veneer of neutrality and progress lies a harsh truth: AI tools are deeply embedded in Western-centric power structures that perpetuate cultural imperialism, economic exploitation, and political dominance. Western tech corporations and governments are leveraging AI not just as technology but as a weapon of soft power projection, enforcing Western narratives, sexual norms, and epistemologies worldwide—often at the expense of diverse cultures, including those in India and the Global South.
This report reveals the mechanisms behind this digital dominance, exposes the illegitimate financial and political gains accrued by Western actors, and demands urgent public scrutiny and resistance from Indian media, policymakers, and citizens.
1. The Western Data Monopoly: Foundations of AI Bias
1.1 Data Extraction from Global Content
Western AI models rely overwhelmingly on data scraped from the English-language internet. However, this “English internet” is dominated by Western content from countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and other Western nations. Indian, African, Latin American, and other Global South content—even when in English—is underrepresented due to digitization gaps, paywalls, censorship, and linguistic biases.
As a result, AI is trained primarily on Western cultural, social, and moral frameworks, making it difficult for non-Western users to have their realities accurately represented. This is a new form of data colonialism, where the cultural knowledge and intellectual labor of billions are harvested for free and repurposed within Western-owned AI models.
1.2 Reinforcement Through Tuning and Evaluation
Beyond raw data, AI models are refined through human evaluators—mostly Western-based professionals who reinforce Western liberal values in shaping AI responses. This tuning process further entrenches Western epistemic dominance and marginalizes alternative worldviews.
2. AI as a Vector for Western Soft Power Projection
2.1 Normalization of Western Norms
AI-generated content consistently defaults to Western norms regarding family, gender, sexuality, and morality. For example:
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Arranged marriages are dismissed as “outdated” or “restrictive,” ignoring their nuanced cultural importance in Indian society.
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Gender identities are framed through Western binaries, erasing culturally unique identities like the South Asian Hijra community.
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Spiritual practices like yoga are reduced to fitness trends, stripping away their rich philosophical and cultural roots.
This constant reinforcement conditions global users—often unconsciously—to internalize Western frameworks as universal truths, undermining indigenous cultures and identities.
2.2 Epistemic Gatekeeping
AI acts as a powerful gatekeeper of knowledge, validating Western ways of knowing while rendering others invisible or illegitimate. This diminishes the cultural sovereignty of nations like India, where diverse epistemologies are sidelined in favor of homogenized Western-centric narratives.
3. Economic and Political Exploitation
3.1 Profiting from Global Data Extraction
Western AI corporations like OpenAI, Google, Microsoft, and Meta monetize billions by commercializing AI services built on data generated worldwide—including content from Indian creators and communities—without providing compensation or recognition.
This mirrors colonial-era extraction, now in a digital data economy where intellectual property is appropriated and commodified without fair benefit-sharing.
3.2 Political Leverage and Cultural Imperialism
Western governments and corporations utilize AI to propagate liberal democratic values aligned with Western geopolitical interests. This subtle cultural influence serves as a tool of soft power, shaping global social norms and foreign policy in ways favorable to Western agendas.
4. Technological Dependency and Neocolonialism
Countries like India increasingly depend on Western AI infrastructure for communication, governance, and commerce, deepening their technological dependency. This limits national autonomy and enables Western actors to exert control through:
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Data surveillance
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Algorithmic bias favoring Western interests
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Restrictions on local AI innovation due to intellectual property monopolies
5. Cultural Erasure and Identity Displacement
AI’s dominance contributes to the erosion of India’s rich linguistic and cultural diversity by privileging Western epistemologies in public discourse. Indigenous knowledge systems, minority languages, and non-Western philosophies are marginalized, threatening cultural continuity and community identity.
6. The Illegitimate Gains: Who Benefits?
| Actor | Gain Type | Mechanism | Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Western Tech Giants | Economic profits | Monetizing AI services built on global data extraction | Wealth concentration |
| Western Governments | Political influence | Propagation of Western soft power through AI narratives | Geopolitical leverage |
| Global Western Culture | Cultural dominance | Epistemic gatekeeping and narrative framing | Cultural homogenization |
| Global South Societies | Dependency and control | Reliance on Western AI tech and infrastructure | Loss of technological sovereignty |
7. Urgent Call for Public Awareness and Action in India
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Indian media must shine a light on this digital form of neo-imperialism, holding Western corporations and governments accountable for cultural appropriation and economic exploitation.
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Policy frameworks must ensure fair data governance, protect local knowledge, and foster Indian AI research and infrastructure development.
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Cultural and digital sovereignty must be defended through education, regulation, and public discourse exposing AI biases and soft power projection.
Conclusion
AI is far from a neutral tool. It is a contemporary vehicle for Western cultural imperialism and economic exploitation. The continued dominance of Western interests in AI threatens India’s cultural sovereignty, economic autonomy, and epistemic diversity.
Only through informed public scrutiny, policy intervention, and grassroots resistance can India and other Global South nations reclaim their narratives and technological futures from this digital colonialism.
