Free Knowledge Against Capital: A Free Book on Artificial Intelligence in Thirty Languages

An international collective leftist effort has made it possible to translate the book “Capitalist Artificial Intelligence: Challenges for the Left and Possible Alternatives” and make it freely available in thirty languages, in a step aimed at breaking the monopoly of culture and expanding international leftist debate on technology as a tool of domination or a tool of liberation.

Rezgar Akrawi

With international leftist support and collective effort, and stemming from the urgent need to activate leftist dialogue on artificial intelligence in different languages, the translation of my book “Capitalist Artificial Intelligence, Challenges for the Left and Possible Alternatives: Technology in the Service of Capital or a Tool for Liberation?” began shortly after the publication of the Arabic and English editions a few months ago, and was recently completed. It is now available for free in thirty languages: English, Chinese, Spanish, French, Arabic, Kurdish (Kurmanji), Kurdish (Sorani), Russian, Hindi, Portuguese, Bengali, German, Japanese, Korean, Persian, Turkish, Urdu, Vietnamese, Indonesian, Ukrainian, Dutch, Greek, Polish, Czech, Swedish, Danish, Norwegian, Serbian, Croatian, Malay, and Tamil.
This multilingual edition is not merely a technical achievement in publishing, but also a step in a project that seeks to enhance leftist debate on artificial intelligence—as both a tool of capitalist domination and, at the same time, a potential instrument contributing to human liberation—and to make it an open international discussion that transcends linguistic and geographic boundaries.


The Principle of Free Electronic Publishing: Knowledge Against Capital
In our contemporary world, knowledge is no longer just an intellectual or creative value; it has been transformed into a commodity monopolized by capital. Publishing houses and distribution platforms control books and ideas in the same way capital controls factories, farms, offices, and material production. They impose their profit-driven logic on words just as they do on manual and intellectual labor. In this way, dominant thought is reproduced to serve the interests of the ruling class, while leftist and emancipatory voices are marginalized, constrained, and even excluded from the public sphere. This cultural monopoly is not only an economic barrier preventing the masses from accessing knowledge, but also a class and ideological weapon used to suppress progressive leftist alternatives. It turns culture and thought into part of the capitalist marketplace, governed by the same laws of supply and demand that control bread, labor, housing, and more.
The gravest danger created by this system is not merely the material barriers to knowledge, but also the invisible intellectual constraints imposed on writers themselves, especially those from the left. Many are forced to adapt their ideas to the conditions of publishing houses and the laws and regulations of the countries they live in, complying with commercial, political, or legal requirements just to have their texts accepted for publication. This produces a kind of voluntary self-censorship in advance, where texts are reshaped before reaching the printing press—not in response to intellectual or aesthetic needs, but in submission to market logic. Freedom of expression thus becomes restricted, pushing writers toward watered-down or ideologically filtered discourse acceptable to capitalist markets and authoritarian states.
Based on the principle that leftist knowledge must never be a commodity, free publishing is a political stance against the monopoly of culture and thought. These translations were published through global platforms such as Amazon, Google, Draft2Digital, and Leanpub, depending on the languages supported. All versions are free, except those on Amazon which are priced symbolically, with many of them free for subscribers. Free electronic publishing in all these languages has allowed the book to reach tens of thousands in a short time, accessible through direct links, search networks, or global and local publishing platforms. This spread could not have happened through traditional channels, constrained by publishing houses, political or commercial censorship, and copyright restrictions. Open publishing broke through those barriers, bringing the editions to the widest audience of readers, easily and without financial or linguistic obstacles.
It must be noted that making these translations available on global platforms, despite their capitalist nature, is an intentional political act—using the “weapons of the enemy” to spread leftist knowledge freely, internationally, and widely.
This is an explicit call to all leftist writers that leftist knowledge should not be sold, bought, or subjected to the logic and laws of the capitalist market, because at its core it is a project of liberation belonging to the masses. This does not diminish the importance of print publishing, which has been and remains a vital tool for spreading ideas, but it emphasizes that the digital revolution has created enormous new opportunities for free electronic publishing, capable of reaching tens of times more readers compared to the limited possibilities of commercial print publishing. Free digital publishing also offers an important economic and ecological alternative: it bypasses the economic costs of producing, distributing, and shipping print books, while also reducing paper use and its harmful environmental effects.
In this context, the print book—like print media—appears to be gradually fading, as most of the younger generation now primarily turns to digital platforms for knowledge and ideas. Publishing books for free is, in itself, an act of resistance: resistance to the privatization of culture, confrontation with capitalist market hegemony over thought, and alignment with the right of everyone to access leftist and progressive ideas without barriers. Free electronic publishing is a form of cultural collectivization for the benefit of the masses, a symbolic and practical step alike, reconnecting intellectual production with international leftist struggle and opening space for the broadest popular participation in producing, sharing, and debating ideas.


Republishing by Other Platforms and Publishers
The spread of the book was not limited to the initial platforms. Many electronic publishers and websites, both global and local, have republished it in its various languages or in parts. This was possible because the book was placed outside the framework of copyright and ownership, free and open to all, so that any individual or entity could republish or quote it freely. This type of republication reflects the essence of open publishing and its ability to break cultural monopolies, expanding the reach of leftist knowledge to the widest global audience, free of charge.
Among the platforms that republished the book are: Apple Books, OverDrive, Smashwords, WorldCat, NewPol, ZNetwork, MSN – Microsoft, Rakuten (Japan), IBS (Italy), The Palace Project, Mondadori Store, Indigo (Canada), Socialist Project, Links (Australia), Saxo, Arbejderen, Solidaritet (Denmark), FNAC, Vivlio (France), Everand (Spanish and Russian), Kobo (Portuguese), Hugendubel, Thalia, Orell Füssli (Germany/Switzerland), Kommon (Greek), Akhbar-rooz (Persian), Kritik Bakis (Turkish), Kurdipedia (Kurdish), and many more leftist, progressive, and media sites, as well as Arabic and Kurdish digital publishing platforms.


Thanks, and Acknowledgments: A Collective Achievement
My deep gratitude and appreciation go to everyone who contributed to the translation, linguistic review, publishing, promotion, and more. I also extend heartfelt thanks to those who wrote or published articles about the book or related to it, released in various languages (Arabic, English, Kurdish, Australian English, Canadian English, German, French, Italian, Spanish, Danish, Greek, Turkish, Persian).
Thanks also go to all who participated in the open dialogue about the book, whether on websites or social media. This dialogue truly formed a living collective leftist act that enriched debate on artificial intelligence in particular, and technology in general, opening broad horizons for thinking about progressive leftist alternatives.
My deep appreciation goes to all comrades who gave valuable feedback on the manuscript before publication, to every writer and reader who joined the dialogue, and to every hand that contributed to this journey. This support was not just practical work, but a living confirmation that leftist and emancipatory ideas can grow and take root through collective, open, and free action, beyond the control of capital.


A Project in Progress: From Dialogue to Book
This project is not limited to publishing a translated book; it extends to a broader effort. Inspired by the rich ideas and visions raised through open dialogue about the book, and the articles produced in its context, the need now arises to document this interaction. For this reason, there is an ongoing project to turn this collective effort into a separate book in multiple languages. This book will serve as a living archive of the most important intellectual contributions that shaped a progressive leftist vision aimed at liberating technology from capitalist domination. It will not be merely an appendix to the original book, but an independent and necessary contribution to enrich international collective debate on possible leftist alternatives to capitalist technological hegemony.


A Note on Translation and Review
The book was translated from English into 28 languages with international leftist support, through a voluntary collective effort involving comrades from multiple countries who contributed to translation and linguistic review. Some translations were assisted by advanced digital tools, but all versions underwent human review by volunteer native speakers. The goal was not to produce a formally perfect edition, but to convey core leftist ideas as accurately as possible and broaden international engagement around artificial intelligence and technology from a liberatory perspective.
In this context, translation and review were not paid professional work, but collective and open effort—part of the struggle against knowledge monopoly and linguistic domination. According to the feedback of comrades who reviewed the texts, the translation quality and clarity were very high, succeeding in conveying the essential ideas of the book. This is confirmed by the fact that many publishers and platforms—despite their usual strict focus on linguistic quality—welcomed the texts without reservation, showing that the political and intellectual content came across with full clarity. The collective and international dimension of the translation fulfilled its mission. This positive assessment came from a leftist standpoint, focused on emancipatory and intellectual content rather than rigid commercial form alone.

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Book and Article Links
Where to find the book in its different languages – publishers and platforms that released it?
• Free publishing platforms:
o Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Rezgar-Akrawi/author/B0DY1BMMXW
o Google: https://www.google.dk/search?&q=inauthor:%22Rezgar+Akrawi%22&udm=36
o Leanpub: https://leanpub.com/u/rezgarakrawi
o Draft2Digital: https://books2read.com/b/mvxANj


Other key platforms and publishers that republished the book or parts of it:
• Apple Books: https://books.apple.com/dk/author/rezgar-akrawi/id1809554162?see-all=books
• OverDrive: https://www.overdrive.com/creators/3945582/rezgar-akrawi
• Smashwords: https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/RezgarAkrawi
• WorldCat: https://search.worldcat.org/search?q=rezgar+akrawi&offset=1
• NewPol: https://newpol.org/authors/akrawi-rezgar/
• Znetwork: https://znetwork.org/author/rezgar-akrawi/
• MSN – Microsoft: https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/other/the-leftist-alternative-to-artificial-intelligence/ar-AA1Miwzu
• Rakuten: https://books.rakuten.co.jp/search?g=101&pname=Rezgar+Akrawi
• IBS: https://www.ibs.it/ebook-inglese/autori/rezgar-akrawi
• The Palace Project (Italy): https://market.thepalaceproject.org/item/6842222?locale=it
• Mondadori Store: https://www.mondadoristore.it/autore/rezgar-akrawi/c/05560552
• Indigo: https://www.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/rezgar-akrawi/
• Links (Australia): https://links.org.au/soft-surveillance-and-control-artificial-intelligence-tool-gradual-and-deep-political-repression
• Socialist Project (Canada): https://socialistproject.ca/2025/07/soft-surveillance-and-control/
• Kritik Bakis (Turkish): https://kritikbakis.com/sol-ve-kapitalizm-arasindaki-dijital-ucurumu-kapatmak/
• Saxo (Denmark): https://www.saxo.com/dk/forfatter/rezgar-akrawi_21556724
• Arbejderen (Denmark): https://www.google.com/search?as_q=Rezgar+akrawi&as_sitesearch=https%3A%2F%2Farbejderen.dk%2F
• Solidaritet (Denmark): https://solidaritet.dk/den-digitale-kloeft-mellem-venstrefloejen-og-kapitalismen-skal-overvindes-det-haster/
• FNAC (France): https://www.fnac.com/ia12361456/Rezgar-Akrawi
• The Palace Project (France): https://market.thepalaceproject.org/item/6842201?locale=fr
• Vivlio (France): https://shop.vivlio.com/search?search=Rezgar+Akrawi
• Everand (Spanish): https://es.everand.com/author/856325135/Rezgar-Akrawi?language_settings_changed=Espa%C3%B1ol
• The Palace Project (Spanish): https://market.thepalaceproject.org/item/6842222?locale=es
• Kobo (Portuguese): https://www.kobo.com/pt/pt/ebook/inteligencia-artificial-capitalista-desafios-para-a-esquerda-e-alternativas-possiveis
• Hugendubel (German): https://www.hugendubel.de/de/search/advanced?publishers=Rezgar%20Akrawi
• Thalia (German): https://www.thalia.de/shop/home/mehr-von-suche/ANY/sp/suche.html?mehrVon=rezgar+akrawi
• Orell Füssli (German/Swiss): https://www.orellfuessli.ch/shop/home/mehr-von-suche/ANY/sv/suche.html?mehrVon=Rezgar%20Akrawi
• Everand (Russian): https://de.everand.com/book/855068761/
• Kommon (Greek): https://kommon.gr/politiki/item/25061-ipia-psifiaki-katastoli-pos-axiopoieitai-i-techniti-noimosyni-gia-tin-edraiosi-tis-kapitalistikis-igemonias-tou-rezgkar-akraoui
• Akhbar-rooz (Persian): https://akhbar-rooz.com/1404/06/18/27841/
• Kurdipedia (Kurdish):
o https://kurdipedia.org/default.aspx?q=20250424074837633100&lng=1
o https://kurdipedia.org/default.aspx?q=20250423122600633023&lng=1
o https://kurdipedia.org/default.aspx?lng=11&q=20250424073649633099
o https://kurdipedia.org/default.aspx?lng=8&q=20250424074837633100

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