Exploration of AI's role in reproducing or diverging from colonial logics in Australia, suggesting implications for sovereignty.
The rapid expansion of artificial intelligence (AI), data infrastructures, and digital experimentation in Australia raises a pressing question: are we witnessing the emergence of a new form of terra nullius , rearticulated through digital systems rather than land? The notion of ‘digital terra nullius’ although provocative, risks being either too metaphorical or too determinist. Instead, I propose that the expression can be productive if it is carefully situated in place and time. In doing so, I ask: to what extent do contemporary AI infrastructures reproduce colonial spatial logics and where might they diverge?
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Rakesh Kumar (2026) studied this question.