Hi Reader,

Do you know when something you read immediately sparks energy because it expands your thinking?

I had that twice last week. First through Alan Soon's newsletter on AI and then through the book Colonizers of the Cloud by Dutch former Microsoft lobbyist Jochem de Groot. Both made me think harder about the current digital age and the role of Big Tech. I've tried to make sense of it in this week's newsletter.

The bottom line: I'm so happy that I studied decoloniality. It gives me language and perspective to understand what is happening on a political, but also cultural and mental level.

That's why a new Writing for Transformation course about how to create narratives that fit the current day and age will start again soon (March or April). Sign up for the waiting list and receive updates this week.

Sanne

Digital colonization and the AI story crisis

Europe has been digitally colonized. That’s the uncomfortable argument running through Colonizers of the Cloud [Dutch: Kolonisten van de Cloud: over techlobbyisten in de geopolitieke machtsstrijd] by Jochem De Groot.

From the first pages, De Groot compares Big Tech to nation-states, except that they lack a democratic mandate or chosen leaders. CEOs of Microsoft, Google, and Meta operate as politicians on the geopolitical stage, and Big Tech's infrastructure shapes societies, landscapes, and culture.

Colonizers of the Cloud draws a picture of how the United States has been influencing (Western) European culture since Pax Americana after World War II. The military and political support has led to a big brother relationship that, only now, since Donald Trump is in office for the second time, visibly shows cracks.

Jochem de Groot's book shows how Europe is also culturally and ethically tied to the US, and that might be harder to distance itself from. He actually goes through that process himself, starting as a tech optimist believing in technology as a force for good, and slowly — while working at Microsoft — realizing that the company's preaching about ethics isn't compatible with its focus on profit. His ambiguous feelings have led him to write the book.

Digital sovereignty vs profit

De Groot takes you on a journey of two decades of cyberspace buildup. Already after the Twitter Revolution in Iran (2009), thinkers like Evgeny Morozov warned against “cyber utopianism” because "technology is not inherently democratic." But this kind of criticism was ignored by influential leaders like Hillary Clinton and "Tech President" Barack Obama.

The regulation of cyberspace was framed by the US and its Western European allies as censorship, pointing to China and Russia as examples of how it shouldn't be done. We're now dealing with the consequences, and there are more calls than ever for tech sovereignty. The dependence on Big Tech has become huge.

Take the construction of hyperscale data centers. The Netherlands and Ireland became the first digital gateways for Europe. Massive data centers require enormous land, energy, and cooling water. They permanently reshape rural landscapes while hardly creating any employment.

Governments must weigh public interest, ecological impact, spatial planning, and long-term sovereignty, yet companies like Microsoft will always prioritize profit.

The "AI story crisis"

From cyberspace and cloud control, we're now in the age of AI, covered in the last chapter of De Groot's book. That's where it becomes super interesting to me. He writes about Europe lacking a coherent digital story and therefore being vulnerable to Big Tech imposing its narrative of disruption.

This is what researchers call the “AI story crisis.” Europe doesn’t have compelling narratives about what AI means for its societies. When journalists report on AI, it’s usually dystopia or technocracy. The stories of either fear for the future or efficient solutions to the most pressing topics that both flatten complexity.

If we don't articulate what kind of society technology should serve, Silicon Valley will decide what it will look like in the future.

Decolonizing white identity

Last week, during a US Senate hearing, Trump nominee Jeremy Carl was asked to define “white culture.” He came up with vague references about Anglo heritage, food (?), church style, and the Super Bowl not being in English (remember Bad Bunny?).

Big Tech is rooted in the North American cultural context, largely shaped by white, male founders and a ‘bro-culture’ that has often excluded women and minority groups. White culture and identity are often treated as neutral, universal, and simply “normal.” But when asked to articulate itself, it becomes surprisingly difficult. The default setting is hard to describe because it has rarely been questioned.

What does this have to do with writing a new digital story?

Well, even though Europe is digitally dependent on the US, both share roots in a colonial history with a worldview that shaped ideas about whiteness and progress. If Europe wants to create a new narrative, apart from the US, it needs to find roots deeper than its own colonial history.

De Groot compares the process of finding a new narrative with the decolonization of former Dutch colonies such as Suriname and Indonesia. Europe needs to go through a process of digital decolonization. Former colonies had to free themselves not just politically but also mentally and culturally from a worldview that was imposed on them.

It meant reforming institutions, reclaiming language, and ultimately learning to tell their own story again. That's the work to be done by Western European countries now as well. It's exactly what decolonial thinkers have been telling us all along. So, it's great that Jochem de Groot wrote this book, and I hope the following steps will embed more of the decolonial thinkers and theories who already led a path forward.

Opportunities

• I'm a trainer in the programme for Thomson Reuters Foundation about Business and Human Rights in Bangkok (23 - 25 March) and Kuala Lumpur (29 March - 1 April). Journalists and CSOs can sign up. The deadline is approaching, so apply quickly!
• ​SciDev .Net is looking for Asia Pacific story pitches on proven scientific solutions to the challenges facing low- and middle-income countries, in areas such as health, climate change, and agriculture. Email news [at] scidev [dot] net
• The Pulitzer Center is hiring a Strategic Communications Director. More information here.
• The Associated Press is hiring a Jerusalem-based News Director to lead coverage of Israel, the Palestinian territories, and Jordan.
• Climate Home News is hiring a Marketing and Communications Officer.
• IJ4EU has opened two new funding calls for cross-border investigative journalism. Deadline: 13 April 2026.
• The Pulitzer Center is launching a Special Call for editorial pitches on climate and labour. Deadline: 6 March 2026.
• The Uzbekistan 2026 Summer Exchange Program for young media professionals who want to spend their summer creating, traveling, and gaining hands-on editorial experience in Uzbekistan is now open. Send your CV, portfolio, and a short pitch to info [at] dinara [dot] co.

Do you want your vacancy or program mentioned here? €125 per ad. Get in touch by hitting reply.

I'm going on a meditation retreat, so there won't be a newsletter next week. See you in two weeks.

With love,

Sanne