Decolonial Modernities: Navigating Climate Change, AI, and Global Challenges

In an era of increasing social complexity, decolonial theory has become central to understanding the plurality of modernities and shifting global structures of power, identity and knowledge. This paper revisits the concept of 'plural modernity' by addressing contemporary global challenges, such as climate change and the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), which highlight the limitations of traditional nation-state and Eurocentric narratives.

Both climate change and AI bring to the fore issues of inequality and marginalisation that disproportionately affect post-colonial societies. These challenges expose the limitations of dominant theories of modernisation and call for new frameworks that prioritise intersectionality, transdisciplinarity and ecological sustainability. By integrating decolonial perspectives with a focus on environmental justice and the ethical implications of AI, this paper argues for the need to rethink modernity as a plural, dialogical process. This approach allows for the inclusion of indigenous and marginalised voices in the global dialogue on science, policy and technology.

In a world facing unprecedented ecological and technological change, the need for new forms of global governance, knowledge production and democratic participation is urgent. This paper contributes to an emerging body of scholarship that sees decolonial thought not as a peripheral critique, but as central to reimagining our shared global future in the face of these crises.