By Suci Lestari Yuana
Publication Date: 2026-04-13 03:14:00
Artificial intelligence is often hailed as the future of work. It is efficient, innovative and neutral. Still, for many women in the Indonesian gig economy, AI feels like a source of increasing pressure.
In my current research on female gig workers in Indonesia, I examine what I call AI colonialism. This term describes how colonial influence continues today through technology and digital systems that maintain control.
This concept captures how powerful actors – often based in the Global North – use AI to exploit workers in the Global South. Similar to historical colonialism, this digital iteration is based on the extraction of data, labor and resources to cement unequal power relations.
In Indonesia, AI-driven platforms such as ride-hailing and e-commerce rely on informal labor but shift the risks and responsibilities back onto workers. But women pay the highest price because algorithms fail to take into account the realities of care work, safety concerns and societal norms.
