Techno Feudalism

The technological takeover is upon us, but what are we going to do to stop it? And more importantly, why should we stop it? We may not have flying cars or hoverboards (yet), but what we do have is arguably more powerful: generative AI like ChatGPT, offering seemingly unlimited access to information and content. Then there are deepfakes—hyper-realistic synthetic media that can digitally reconstruct faces, voices, and entire identities. AI-generated images and videos are now so convincing they blur the line between reality and simulation. We even have AI companions—virtual girlfriends, therapists, and friends—designed to replace human connection altogether.

At first glance, these might seem like exciting innovations, breakthroughs in efficiency and creativity. But beneath the surface lies something more troubling: these technologies are beginning to shape not just how we live, but how we think, feel, and relate to one another. With tools this powerful in the hands of so few, we have to ask—are these technologies serving us, or are we slowly surrendering control to systems we no longer understand? This is not just a technological shift, but a moral one. We must question whether this future is truly ours to build, or someone else’s to sell back to us.

But what does any of this have to do with capitalism? Capitalism, after all, is the dominant economic system underpinning modern western society. It shapes how we live, what we value, and who holds power. And now, it’s evolving, or perhaps being replaced by something more insidious. In this writing I will be focusing on and discussing the ideas of “Techno-feudalism” from economist and author “Yanis Varoufakis” and why I believe that this theory identifies a lot of the issues that “free-market” capitalism is facing and the path we are being led down by big tech corporations in today's world. So, what is Techno-Feudalism? Techno-feudalism, as described by Yanis Varoufakis, is the idea that we are no longer living under capitalism in the traditional sense. Instead of markets where businesses compete for consumers, we now have digital platforms — owned by a handful of tech giants — that control the infrastructure of our lives. These companies don’t just participate in the economy; they own the digital spaces in which economic and social activity happens. It links to the “Feudalism” system which took place during the medieval times, where power was concentrated in the hands of land-owning lords, and ordinary people, tied to the land, were forced to serve them in exchange for basic survival.

Under capitalism, wealth and power typically come from owning and investing in capital — factories, machines, and goods. In a techno-feudal world, power comes from owning platforms, data, and the algorithms that govern behaviour. Companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google don’t just sell products: they extract “rent” from users, sellers, and developers simply for access to their ecosystems. They are not merely players in the marketplace:  they are the marketplace. And through this position, they control the terms, gate-keep innovation, and suppress competition.

But this new digital regime doesn't enforce control through violence or direct authority — it does so through distraction. Our attention has become the most valuable commodity, and Big Tech has mastered the art of keeping us endlessly engaged. The devices themselves — smartphones, laptops, apps — aren’t inherently harmful. The real danger lies in the substance of what we’re consuming through them.

The content we scroll through — TikToks designed for infinite consumption, YouTube recommendation loops, rage-bait-driven news — often lacks depth. It keeps us busy but not informed, stimulated but not empowered. It’s fast, low-effort dopamine disguised as culture. In this sense, the substances we consume aren’t just videos or memes — they're mental diets carefully engineered to keep us passive, anxious, and addicted. We trade critical thought for endless stimulation, and over time, that shapes who we are and what we’re capable of noticing and/or resisting.

So, what’s next? How do we stop ourselves from doomscrolling our way into a technological dystopia — one where curiosity is dulled, critical thinking erodes, and a desire for real change is replaced by algorithmic junk food for the mind? We are being fed a constant stream of shallow, manipulative content designed not to inform or inspire, but to distract and pacify. It subliminally programs us to look inward, to blame ourselves, while the real architects of this system — Big Tech giants — tighten their grip on our daily lives and their bonuses. What we need now is a fundamental shift in our relationship with the platforms that dominate our lives. We must learn to step back from the curated, superficial representations of reality that flood our feeds and instead re-engage with the world beyond the screen. It’s time to unplug — to withdraw the currency of attention from the leeches of Big Tech who profit from our distraction. We still have power. We still have autonomy. And most importantly, we still have our humanity. That is something we cannot afford to surrender — because if we do, we aren’t just giving up on ourselves as individuals or as a society; we’re abandoning the generations that come after us. We have a moral responsibility to leave behind a legacy of clarity, courage, and resistance — a legacy built on human tenacity, not algorithmic passivity. Are we really willing to trade that away? To leave behind a history that won’t be remembered with respect, but with regret?