This article is part of a series exploring Hype Research, set to be published in Tech Policy Press in 2026.
The current wave of AI enthusiasm symbolizes a new chapter in colonial strategy, reframing the exploitation of Africa’s digital workforce as a vehicle for “innovation.” This appropriation camouflages underlying power dynamics and serves the interests of exploitative profit-driven entities in the digital landscape.
We can assert this perspective based on our eight-month investigation into a story that unraveled unexpectedly. More insights will follow.
Understanding AI Hype
AI hype represents a form of propaganda that institutionalizes the ideology of artificial intelligence, particularly “superintelligence,” as an “inevitable” force destined to engender significant historical transformation.
For instance, xAI founder Elon Musk reportedly informed his team in 2025 that Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—a system that could potentially rival or surpass human cognitive abilities—might emerge as early as 2026.
Meanwhile, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, has circulated visions of AI dramatically enhancing the quality of life by 2024, claiming that new capabilities could lead to previously unimaginable shared prosperity. “Everyone’s life could be better in the future than it is today,” he stated.
Additionally, Richard Sorcher, founder of you.com, proclaimed in 2023 that “artificial intelligence will disrupt any industry capable of collecting data and engaging in repetitive processes.”
Such declarations embody a significant level of hype. While we recognize that hype can serve constructive social purposes, as members of the Fourth Estate, our focus is squarely on accountability. We view hype as a mechanism of power used by influential actors to shape public perception and mask exploitation.
In collaboration with the Pulitzer Center, our year-long investigation into the murky realm of microtasks, published by Africa Uncensored, involved conversations with digital workers from Nigeria to South Africa and Kenya who are engaged in training large-scale language models (LLMs), such as ChatGPT.
The Connection Between Gig Worker Recruitment and AI Hype
Our research scrutinized the extensive hiring practices employed by microtask companies like Mindrift—formerly under Yandex—to secure training contracts with major tech firms, including OpenAI. Initially challenging to grasp, we identified a copy-and-paste strategy: these companies hire en masse even when work is scarce, thereby creating an illusion of capacity. This approach signals to investors to continue infusing capital into AI development.
We label this strategy as “workforce hedging,” a corporate tactic to maintain an overflow of candidates without guaranteeing job opportunities. Mindrift’s operational model is premised on this very notion. A blog post from February 2025 explicitly articulated this: “If Company A requires 50 cybersecurity professionals, we ensure the right candidates are already vetted and prepared.”
This reflects a trend in speculative capitalism that values companies based on anticipated future performance rather than current output. Here, idle workers become a measure of “competence,” offering a façade of assurance to investors about rapid growth potential. This illusion drives hype, inflating stock market valuations and converting precarious labor into financial security for the AI industry.
Ultimately, human labor is harnessed not for its contributions but for a striking charade of enrichment, with many pursuing the elusive promise of a “superintelligent” AI.
The Prospects of AI Hype as a New Colonial Frontier
In our analysis of public discourse surrounding AI, prominent themes emerged: Altman’s assertions of enhanced quality of life, Mindrift’s noncommittal employment pledges amid thousands of job listings, and overarching narratives suggesting that “there’s little evidence to show why, but this is unequivocally positive.” Those in power consistently propagate the notions of “inevitability” and “transformation,” benefiting a select few while obscuring exploitation.
This reflects a historical cycle. History teaches us that patterns evolve into trends, and trends culminate in systems that persist due to the vested interests of those profiting from them. The current battleground is social media, where tech leaders and investors perpetuate whimsical claims of “inevitability” and “transformation.”
By framing AI as an “inevitable” advancement, the hype morphs into a new form of colonial power. This rhetoric dismisses the possibilities of dissent or alternative futures, establishing AI as a contemporary colonial frontier. This domain exploits both physical resources—like data centers depleting local communities—as well as linguistic narratives that manipulate and undermine workers, turning human labor into symbolic collateral.
Platforms such as X have become arenas for shaping these narratives, where terms like “necessity” obscure exploitation as a natural and aspirational norm.
As investigative journalists, we are dedicated to enhancing community awareness of these dynamics, equipping them with insights for navigating the future rather than becoming unwitting participants in a predetermined agenda.
The colonial project is far from over; it has simply evolved with more refined public relations strategies.
