Critical Theory of Automation

Technodiversity and infrastructural decolonization in the transatlantic Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking sphere

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.62701/revsocial.v14.5595

Keywords:

Linguistic automation, Technological sovereignty, Philosophy of technology, Technodiversity, Mediation, Opacity

Abstract

Linguistic automation in the transatlantic Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking sphere is usually framed as a strategic question of technological sovereignty, as if models, datasets and infrastructure could solve a problem whose challenges are also political, ontological and epistemic. This article argues that such interpretations remain conceptually partial. Linguistic automation is understood here as the set of computational systems and infrastructures through which language becomes manageable, classifiable and optimizable, including machine translation, speech technologies, language models, search and moderation systems, together with the benchmarking and data practices on which they rely. The article presents a theoretical rather than an empirical argument. It reconstructs the infrastructure-centred conception of sovereignty that currently predominates in policy and strategic discourse, clarifies the philosophical assumptions on which it rests, and subjects those assumptions to the pressure of the critical theory of technology, the political economy of AI and Caribbean thought.

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Published

11-11-2026

How to Cite

de la Cruz Recio, M. (2026). Critical Theory of Automation: Technodiversity and infrastructural decolonization in the transatlantic Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking sphere. SOCIAL REVIEW. International Social Sciences Review Revista Internacional De Ciencias Sociales, 14(2), 133–141. https://doi.org/10.62701/revsocial.v14.5595

Issue

Vol. 14 No. 2 (2026)

Section

Research articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Manuel de la Cruz Recio

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