Social Architecture as a strategic response 
to the challenges of digital epistemic 
neocolonialism

The aim of the article is to analyze epistemic neocolonialism as a new form of global dominance, manifested in control over knowledge infrastructures, data, and algorithmic systems. Based on the authors’ empirical analysis of the responses of seven generative language models (LLM) in 27 languages of the Global South to a query about the content of the term “neocolonialism,” stable mechanisms for the reproduction of colonial hierarchies in the digital environment were identified. The main methods of analysis were qualitative content analysis and critical discourse analysis (CDA), which made it possible to identify not only what is said, but also how it is said, which rhetorical devices legitimize knowledge, and which subject positions are constructed. The analysis shows that all models, regardless of language and developers, reduce a complex political concept to a universal Western‑centric template that excludes alternative epistemologies, internal agents, and modern aspects (environmental, digital). As a strategic response to the challenges of epistemic neocolonialism, a global-level social architecture is proposed — an approach to designing digital systems based on the principles of decentralization, epistemic diversity, transparency, protection of data sovereignty, and participation. Social architecture is seen as a new, effective tool for overcoming epistemic neocolonialism and building a polycentric world order in which countries of the Global South gain real agency in knowledge production.