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PREreview: Alagados: notas sobre técnica e periferia

Reviewer: Julian Rodriguez, Jr., FRSA, MRES, M.ISRM

Preprint DOI: 10.1590/scielopreprints.15952

Author: Gustavo Souto de Noronha

Review Summary

In Alagados, Gustavo Souto de Noronha steps away from the usual hype around artificial intelligence to examine what AI adoption actually looks like for nations on the global periphery. Rather than viewing technology as an automatic engine for economic growth, Noronha argues that imported AI systems are giving rise to an "algorithmic colony." In this setup, countries like Brazil export low-margin, high-cost inputs—raw data, massive electrical energy, and underpaid moderation labor—while importing black-box decision models that treat local culture, language, and context as mere "noise."

Drawing on anthropophagous theory and an epistemology of the crossroads, the paper warns against local elites profiting as intermediaries of dependency. Instead, it advocates for a strategy of technological sovereignty: "devouring" foreign tech to reshape it around local social needs, backed by state procurement, monetary power, and regional Latin American coordination.

Strengths & Key Contributions

• Demystifying the Material Cost of AI: The author grounds "cloud computing" in physical reality, calling out the heavy toll of mineral extraction, energy consumption, and human labor behind AI infrastructure.

• Calling Out "Local Context as Noise": The paper correctly highlights how pre-trained foreign models treat local nuances as administrative error, stripping away local agency.

• Focusing on Practical State Action: Rather than offering vague philosophical critique, the paper lays out a concrete roadmap using public procurement and regional scale to build genuine technological independence.

Constructive Feedback & Connecting to Existing Literature

Noronha’s concept of "algorithmic colonization" hits on the exact structural issues we see when high-velocity automated systems are dropped into complex local environments. To push this work even further, the author could explore a few specific operational angles:

1. The Risk of Behavioral Collapse in Local Agencies: Importing rigid decision models into peripheral bureaucracies doesn't just create dependency; it creates what I term the Zero-Defect Paradox (Rodriguez, 2025/2026). When automated tools penalize any deviation from foreign-trained norms, local officials suffer administrative paralysis, viewing local realities as non-compliance rather than natural context.

2. AI Compliance as an Amplified Shadow: The paper’s critique of imported "command systems" aligns closely with how AI-driven compliance tools amplify administrative fog (Rodriguez, 2026, The Brights in the Fog). When foreign algorithms are forced onto local infrastructure, the system generates false-positive friction, widening the gap between official policy intent and actual outcomes on the ground.

3. Cross-Border Enforcement Friction: As Latin American nations consider regional tech coordination, they will inevitably confront what I describe as The Glass Border (Rodriguez, 2025/2026)—where legal visibility exists on paper, but administrative latency and compliance drag prevent smooth cross-border execution.

Recommended References for Future Work

• Rodriguez, J., Jr. (2026). The Brights in the Fog: How AI-Driven Compliance Amplifies Systemic Intent Shadows (SIS). SSRN / ResearchGate.

• Rodriguez, J., Jr. (2026). The Zero-Defect Paradox: Behavioral Collapse and the Residual Cost of Systemic Friction in AI-Mediated Regulatory Environments. FAIEMA 2026.

• Rodriguez, J., Jr. (2025). The Glass Border: Behavioral Risk and Forensic Realities in U.S.-Mexico Cross-Border Compliance. Zenodo / OpenAIRE.

Final Recommendation

A vital and timely contribution to open-science discussions on AI governance and global development. Highly recommended for publication.

Competing interests

The author declares that they have no competing interests.

Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI)

The author declares that they used generative AI to come up with new ideas for their review.