The Coloniality of the Algorithm (2019) Flavia Dzodan. Dzodan asks us to use the word coloniality instead of colonialism because coloniality is an active process which still affects us. They argue that post-colonialism is a bluff indented to make us believe that it is a thing of the past (I share a similar believe in post-humanism). Dzodan defines the data-collection performed by bigdata corporations as being rooted on a a colonial mentality which sees payed labor as a privilege (of the white ruling class).
I’ve been following the llllllll.co forum as a covid pastime and recently read trough the Let’s dump master-slave terms! tread (only open for registered users). In short a lot of music related technical jargon echo foul attitudes and removing problematic terms such as Slave and Master (from the MIDI documentation and implementation etc.) can be though of as a step towards more inclusive creative & technical cultures. The thread is hard and provoking to read, which I think is a good thing. A lot of folk feel offended by the idea of change.
I was unaware of the connotations these terms bring with. For me these terms have been a part of a technical vocabulary which I don’t translate to my own language. For me learning English has been challenging and as an example, I remember being penalized for not learning to use gender pronouns correctly (which our native language does not have). Now that I’ve read how these terms affect folk, participating in a campaign which seeks to change these terms or help in developing awareness of them, feels like the right thing to do.
But I would like that the process where these terms are discussed would not assume that every culture shares the same understanding of these terms or shares a similar belief on the significance of words. Changing these terms is a good starting point and the discussions which follow are good. I think the root of the problem is in a culture which assumes hierarchies and binary opposition. I fear that the language these cultures use reproduces harmful relationships regardless of the words that are used.