TITLE:
Technocolonialism versus Technofeudalism: Technologies of the Body and Technologies of the Self
AUTHORS:
Esteban Nicholls
KEYWORDS:
Technocolonialism, Technofeudalism, Artificial Intelligence, Technology, Feudalism, Technologies of the Self, Technologies of the Body
JOURNAL NAME:
Advances in Applied Sociology,
Vol.16 No.10,
October
10,
2026
ABSTRACT: The general historical context within which this paper develops is the global expansion of algorithmic technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and social media (YouTube, Facebook, TikTok, etc.). Taking this into consideration, this paper analyses the concept of “technofeudalism”. Without refuting the concept in its entirety, the paper argues that despite the name “techno-feudalism”, the concept has two fundamental flaws: its treatment of technology and its discussion of feudalism. However, this paper does not stop with a critique of technofeudalism, instead, it proposes to “remedy” these issues by utilizing the concept of technocolonialism. I argue that technocolonialism, is more attuned to the realities of the Global South, specifically the Andean region. Moreover, to go beyond metaphorical allusions to feudalism and an unclear treatment of technology, I derive two methodologically compatible and historically rooted concepts of power: Techniques of the body and Techniques of the Self. In conclusion, this paper argues in favor of an analysis of algorithmic colonialism, capital expansion (from thechnofeudalism) and a non-metaphorical reference to the history of “Andean Feudalism”.