Technofeudalism and the Artificial Intelligence (AI) Revolution: Exploring Ways of Escaping Cloud Serfdom

Yanis Varoufakis has offered plausible evidence that the rise of tech company dominance over all aspects of social, political, economic and cultural life – and the overwhelming power of leading tech billionaires – has resulted in a post-capitalist state of affairs that he calls ‘technofeudalism’.  On this reading, all consumers of tech products and users of social media platforms can be regarded as ‘cloud serfs’, and Varoufakis outlines various ways of challenging this state of affairs.  Other critics – both from within the field of artificial intelligence (AI) technology and from academia – have warned of the existential threats of contemporary developments to all aspects of social life and culture. This article analyses the key elements of the discourse – evaluating the evidence for pessimism and optimism about the AI future – before offering a conclusion informed by the idea of erring on the side of caution by highlighting the principal threats and dangers followed by some suggestions about how these might be countered by means of practical survival strategies.