In Own This! How Platform Co-operatives Help Workers Build a Democratic Internet, Trebor Scholz presents platform co-operativism as a fairer, more sustainable alternative to the extractive capitalist model digital work. While he acknowledges the challenges of building a movement to compete with platform capitalism, Scholz persuasively argues that embracing diverse forms of co-operativism can create a more democratic digital future, writes Lola Brittain.

Own This! How Platform Co-operatives Help Workers Build a Democratic Internet. Trebor Scholz. Verso. 2023.

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In the past few years, the new forms of work ushered in by the hyper-extractive business model of “platform capitalism”, have come under increased scrutiny. This has generated interest in paths of contestation and potential alternatives. One such alternative is platform co-operativism. Fusing the co-operative ownership structure, most commonly associated with the Rochdale pioneers of 1840s England, with the technology of digital platforms, platform co-ops promise to deliver a fairer and more sustainable form of digital work.

Fusing the co-operative ownership structure, most commonly associated with the Rochdale pioneers of 1840s England, with the technology of digital platforms, platform co-ops promise to deliver a fairer and more sustainable form of digital work.

The fusion was first proposed in concrete terms by Trebor Scholz in 2014. Since then, Scholz has done much to conceptualise and popularise the practice as the head of the Platform Cooperative Consortium; a digital space dedicated to supporting the establishment, growth, and conversion of platform co-ops.

Own This! How Platform Co-operatives Help Workers Build a Democratic Internet is his latest contribution. The book offers a panoramic overview of platform co-operativism and a vision for what its future might entail, drawing on case studies from Cape Town to Manhattan. It claims that platform co-ops are not a “figment of utopian imagination” but a reality that are already transforming the digital economy and that, with the right help, support and ecosystem, they can achieve a significant impact at a global scale.

The book offers a panoramic overview of platform co-operativism and a vision for what its future might entail, drawing on case studies from Cape Town to Manhattan

The book begins with an analysis of the issues faced by platform workers that will now be familiar to many: meagre wages, extreme risk, excessive surveillance, and management via algorithm. For Scholz, this is a consequence of the lack of workplace democracy that is attributable to the concentration of ownership within the hands of a few. This is not a new issue, of course, but it has been taken to the extreme by major technology corporations in the past two decades.

The solution to abject exploitation, according to Scholz, is for workers to collectively leverage platform technologies to forge democratically owned and governed businesses.

The solution to abject exploitation, according to Scholz, is for workers to collectively leverage platform technologies to forge democratically owned and governed businesses. Through analyses of many thriving real-world examples, such as Up&Go (an umbrella domestic work co-operative) and the Drivers Co-operative (a ride-hailing co-operative), he demonstrates that worker-ownership offers more equitable value distribution, higher pay, increased algorithmic transparency and security, a greater sense of dignity and improved wellbeing.

The potential of platform co-operativism to deliver improved outcomes for workers is contrasted to alternative attempts to elicit change, specifically by “compelling” major technology corporations to do better. He argues that several of the largest players have actively sought to prevent pro-worker legislation and that they are unwilling to democratise the workplace or improve conditions.

This is of course true in some cases. But there are examples where platform companies have been forced and/or persuaded to alter their practices, through direct worker action, community pressure and action-research. Scholz discusses prospects for worker action in chapter five. Here, he argues that even “successful strikes” do not necessarily generate workplace power and control and that, in turn, unions should embrace co-operativism as an alternative mode of platform worker organisation.

This is a pertinent suggestion, especially considering the recent ruling by the UK Supreme Court that Deliveroo workers cannot be recognised as employees or represented by trade unions in collective bargaining. But, of course, starting a co-operative is not possible for all, and Scholz acknowledges that platform co-operatives should not be expected to out-compete the major platform companies. To that extent, change – as he has noted elsewhere – will require a combination of strategies.

Starting a co-operative is not possible for all, and Scholz acknowledges that platform co-operatives should not be expected to out-compete the major platform companies. To that extent, change […] will require a combination of strategies.

The book is not solely focused on platform worker co-operatives, though. Conceptualising platform co-operativism as the Swiss army knife of organisational models, Scholz touches on an array of different forms, from producer co-ops to multi-stakeholder co-ops and data co-ops. This is all to say, that platform co-operatives are far from a “homogenous force”; they come in a variety of shapes and sizes and produce a variety of benefits, not simply for workers but for communities and consumers too.

Chapter three, in which Scholz tackles the perceived challenges of size (or, indeed scalability), is particularly interesting. Here, he confronts both a critique of platform co-operativism and an ongoing debate within the movement. The critique is that platform co-operatives are unlikely to scale. The debate is whether they should even attempt to; is scale simply growth in new clothes? He claims not, arguing that co-operative scaling is about securing “the best possible overall outcome/return”. This can be achieved by scaling “up” via the expansion of the size of the operation; but also “out” through the replication of a model in different geographic location; and “deep” by nurturing the existing organisation to create added value for stakeholders. This nuanced three-dimensional framework is an appreciated intervention in debate that often tends to focus, narrowly, on size alone.

More generally, it speaks to his broader strategy for the growth of the platform co-operative movement, which can be summarised, simply, as pragmatism. He is clear, at several points within the book, that his intention is to expand the movement and attract as many “allies” as possible. This means creating ample space for different approaches and experiments. It also means rejecting ideological fixity. In chapter seven – a letter set in the year 2035, written in the tradition of social speculative fiction – he rejects James Muldoon’s association of platform co-operativism with socialism, arguing that the movement must remain a “big tent” under which many political philosophies can exist.

Not only does Own This! advocate for a collective appropriation of platforms themselves; it also seeks to wrestle ownership of the imaginaries surrounding the development of the platform economy out of the hands of major corporations.

Thus, while he is pragmatic in his approach, his vision is incredibly ambitious in scope. He imagines a near-future, twelve years from now, in which an international network of co-operatives, containing socialists, anarchists, disgruntled VC (Venture Capitalist) bros and everything in-between, is thriving. In Scholz’s vision, this network is being actively promoted and supported by 80 governments around the world, as a pivotal pillar of the response to climate change and poverty elimination. In this respect, not only does Own This! advocate for a collective appropriation of platforms themselves; it also seeks to wrestle ownership of the imaginaries surrounding the development of the platform economy out of the hands of major corporations.

Is the network that Scholz envisions possible? There are certainly many green shoots. But, as an “unfinished story of co-operative principles in the digital economy,” the book shows that there are many questions that the movement is yet to confront. This includes the ways in which regulation could be designed to support platforms co-operatives, and how democratic governance can be managed and maintained if platform co-operatives do scale.

Overall, though, the book is a critical documentation of an evolving and genuinely impactful movement. Weaving multiple real-world examples through analyses of key topics – not simply scale and union relations, but also value and prospects for data democratisation – it succeeds in vividly bringing the concept to life, whilst identifying paths for future research. As such, it will no doubt serve as a call to action for those interested in constructing an alternative digital future.

This post gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science.

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While researchers often point to the relevance of their research, economic models and econometric methods are typically inaccessible to a wider audience. Gabriel Ahlfeldt explains how interactive dashboards represent a useful, yet underutilised, tool to enhance the accessibility of quantitative research and increase its impact, showing how a new, massive house-price index he has developed … Continued

In More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech, Meredith Broussard scrutinises bias encoded into a range of technologies and argues that their eradication should be prioritised as governments develop AI regulation policy. Broussard’s rigorous analysis spotlights the far-reaching impacts of invisible biases on citizens globally and offers practical policy measures to tackle the problem, writes Fabian Lütz.

More than a Glitch: Confronting Race, Gender, and Ability Bias in Tech. Meredith Broussard. MIT Press. 2023. 

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As the world witnesses advancements in the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and new technologies, governments around the world such as the UK and US the EU and international organisations are slowly starting to propose concrete measures, regulation and AI bodies to mitigate any potential negative effects of AI on humans. Against this background, More than a Glitch offers a timely and relevant contribution to the current AI regulatory debate. It provides a balanced look at biases and discriminatory outcomes of technologies, focusing on race, gender and ability bias, topics that tend to receive less attention in public policy discussions. The author’s academic and computer sciences background as well as her previous book Artificial Unintelligence – How Computers Misunderstand the World make her an ideal author to delve into this important societal topic. The book addresses algorithmic biases and algorithmic discrimination which not only receives increasing attention in academic circles but is of practical relevance due to its potential impacts on citizens and considering the choice of regulation in the coming months and years.

[More than a Glitch] provides a balanced look at biases and discriminatory outcomes of technologies, focusing on race, gender and ability bias, topics that tend to receive less attention in public policy discussions

The book’s cornerstone is that technology is not neutral, and therefore racism, sexism and ableism are not mere glitches, but are coded into AI systems.

Broussard argues that “social fairness and mathematical fairness are different. Computers can only calculate mathematical fairness” (2). This paves the way to understand that biases and discriminatory potential are encoded in algorithmic systems, notably by those who have the power to define the models, write the underlying code and decide which datasets to use. She argues that rather than just making technology companies more inclusive, the exclusion of some demographics in the conceptualisation and design of frameworks needs to stop. The main themes of the book, which spans eleven short chapters, are machine bias, facial recognition, fairness and justice systems, student grading by algorithms, ability bias, gender, racism, medical algorithms, the creation of public interest technology and options to “reboot” the system and society.

Biases and discriminatory potential are encoded in algorithmic systems, notably by those who have the power to define the models, write the underlying code and decide which datasets to use.

Two chapters stand out in Broussard’s attempt to make sense of the problems at hand: Chapter Two, “Understanding Machine Bias” and more specifically Chapter Seven “Gender Rights and Databases”. Both illustrate the author’s compelling storytelling skills and her ability to explain complex problems and decipher the key issues surrounding biases and discrimination.

Chapter Two describes one of the major applications of AI: machine learning which Broussard defines as to take

“..a bunch of historical data and instruct a computer to make a model. The model is a mathematical construct that allows us to predict patterns in the data based on what already exists. Because the model describes the mathematical patterns in the data, patterns that humans can’t easily see, you can use that model to predict or recommend something similar” (12).

The author distinguishes between different forms of training a model and discusses the so called “black box problem” – the fact that AI systems are very often opaque – and explainability of machine decisions. Starting from discriminatory treatment of bank loan applications, for example credit score assessment on the basis of length of employment, income or debt, the author explains with illustrative graphs how algorithms find correlations in datasets which could lead to certain discriminatory outcomes. She explains that contrary to humans, machines have the capacity to analyse huge amounts of datasets with data points which enable for example banks to make predictions on the probability of loan repayment. The mathematics underlying such predictions are based on what similar groups of people with similar variables have done in the past. The complex process often hides underlying biases and potential for discriminations. As Broussard points out,

“Black applicants are turned away more frequently than white applicants [and] are offered mortgages at higher rates than white counterparts with the same data […]” (25).

The book also demonstrates convincingly that the owners or designers of the model wield a powerful tool to shape decisions for society. Broussard sums up the chapter and provides crucial advice for AI developers when she states, advice for AI developers when she states,

“If training data is produced out of a system of inequality, don’t use it to build models that make important social decisions unless you ensure the model doesn’t perpetuate inequality” (28).

Chapter Seven looks at how databases impact gender rights, starting with the example of gender transition which is registered in Official Registers. This example illustrates the limitations of algorithmic systems as compared to humans, not only in light of the traditional binary system for assigning gender as male and female, but more generally the binary system that lies at the heart of computing. Both in the gender binary and computer binary framework, choices need to be made between one or the other leaving no flexibility. Broussard describes the binary system as follows:

“Computers are powered by electricity, and the way they work is that there is a transistor, a kind of gate, through which electricity flows. If the gate is closed, electricity flows through, and that is represented by a 1. If the gate is open, there is no electricity, and that is represented by a 0” (107).

When programmers design an algorithm, they “superimpose human social values onto a mathematical system.” Broussard urges us to ask ourselves, “Whose values are encoded in the system?” (109).

The resulting choices that need to be made within AI systems or forms used in administration often do not adequately represent reality. For people who do not feel represented by the options of male and female, such as gender non-conforming people, they are asked to make the choice in which category they fall even though this would not reflect their gender identity. Here again, Broussard reminds us of the importance of design choices and assumptions of coders which impact people’s everyday life. When programmers design an algorithm, they “superimpose human social values onto a mathematical system.” Broussard urges us to ask ourselves, “Whose values are encoded in the system?” (109). The chapter concludes with the challenge of making “technological systems more inclusive” (116) and argues that computers constitute not only mathematical but sociotechnical systems that need to be updated regularly in order to reflect societal change.

Computers constitute not only mathematical but sociotechnical systems that need to be updated regularly in order to reflect societal change.

The book successfully describes the invisible dangers and impacts of these rapidly advancing technologies in terms of race, gender and ability bias, making these ideas accessible through concrete examples. Ability bias is discussed in Chapter Seven, “Ability and Technology”, where she gives several examples, how technology companies try to provide technology to serve the disabled community in their daily jobs or lives. She gives the example of Apple shops where either sign language interpreters are available or where Apple equips employees with an iPad to communicate with customers. For consumers, she also highlights Voiceover screen reader software, auto-captioning and transcripts of audio or read-aloud functions of newspaper sites. Broussard points both to the advantages and the limitations of those technological solutions.

She also introduces the idea of tackling biases and discrimination with the help of audit systems

Readers are invited to reflect on concrete policy proposals and suggestions, on the basis of some ideas sketched out in last chapter, “Potential Reboot” where she shows her enthusiasm for the EU’s proposed AI Act and the US Algorithmic Accountability Act. She also introduces the idea of tackling biases and discrimination with the help of audit systems and presents a project for one such system based on the regulatory sandbox idea, which is a “safe space for testing algorithms or policies before unleashing them on the world” (175). The reader might wish that Broussard‘s knowledge of technology and awareness of discrimination issues could have informed the ongoing policy debate even further.

In sum, the book will be of interest and use to a wide range of readers, from students, specialised academics, policy makers and AI experts to those new to the field who want to learn more about the impacts of AI on society.

This post gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The LSE RB blog may receive a small commission if you choose to make a purchase through the above Amazon affiliate link. This is entirely independent of the coverage of the book on LSE Review of Books.

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In Technical Territories: Data, Subjects, and Spaces in Infrastructural Asia, Luke Munn explores how today’s territories are defined through data infrastructures, from undersea cables to cloud storage. Examining several cases studies in Asia, Anshul Rai Sharma finds this a groundbreaking interdisciplinary study of how these infrastructures underpin new forms of governance, shaping subjects and their everyday lives.

Technical Territories: Data, Subjects, and Spaces in Infrastructural Asia. Luke Munn. University of Michigan Press. 2023.

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Luke Munn’s Technical Territories dissects the idea of territory with a new sensibility of the digital world. Munn suggests that territories are being reworked in light of digital infrastructure – sea (undersea cables), cloud (data centres), and fog (technical standards) which together enable “tides” of surprising new territorial formations. As historically produced, “territory” means a “bounded space under control of a group”, typically a state (7). In contrast, technical territories consist of “contemporary information technologies” where “activities and identities are mediated through software, platform, and services” (14). Munn’s account thus on the one hand highlights the strategic and political aspects of such infrastructure, and on the other hand emphasises that territorial dynamics transcend continental land masses and borders of nation states. In this sense, Munn’s work is an attempt at an ethnography of power through the unique lens of cables and clouds-systems.

Munn’s account […] highlights the strategic and political aspects of such infrastructure, and […] emphasises that territorial dynamics transcend continental land masses and borders of nation states

Digital infrastructures are conceptualised as “nodes” that are “situated and siteless, embedded and extended, within and beyond” (28). One feels compelled to ask: Where are the boundaries? Instead of treating this ambiguity as a constraint, the author invites us to make this the object of the study, an exercise in making sense of these dense networks and what they imply for citizenship and territory. This is a complicated exercise, as a host of issues are at play simultaneously – jurisdiction, political authority, and economic ties. The book traverses technical as well as human geographies, reminding one of Doreen Massey’s concept of place as perpetual intersections.

The power tussle over digital infrastructure between nation states, companies, governments, and civil society is felt in the everyday lives of individuals.

Munn recognises that the power tussle over digital infrastructure between nation states, companies, governments, and civil society is felt in the everyday lives of individuals. He thus makes a key methodological choice to centre on individual data subjects in his analysis, including a case study of Hong Kong narratives. These accounts reflect the unease with networked technologies, with new geographic knowledge productions through three-fold issue of transmission, capture and processing of personal data. Visceral democratic protests are pitted against the “digitization of bodies” (43) which underscores the precarious nature of individual identity, autonomy, and privacy.

Munn identifies the imperial use of telegraph cables to convey critical information, hinting at the history of technological use for colonial purposes.

A central point in the book is that infrastructure works for those who build it – it is a source of power. Munn is thus not only concerned with connections but with the ownership of these connections. The emphasis is merely on spatialised power, but also on how this power is made operational. In a deeply political account of cable construction across the globe, Munn identifies the imperial use of telegraph cables to convey critical information, hinting at the history of technological use for colonial purposes. To understand where such tendencies are headed now, we must move through sea (cables), cloud (computing) and fog (technical standards). The reader is encouraged to see how “the imperial and terrestrial coexists with the technical” (102). The current fierce competition between global firms to lay claim to such territories is described vividly, bringing forth the central concern: even though the firms are competing in the global market, like any other geopolitical tool, this market is deeply embedded in government subsidies, intelligence, and national interests.

In light of this frame to global competition in digital infrastructure, a considerable portion of the text is dedicated to unpacking “Sinicization” (30). A comprehensive analysis of the emerging Chinese influence on digital technologies. Channelling Italo Calvino’s Invisible Cities, Munn makes the cables of communication visible, showing how vulnerable they are to disruption. A key realisation in the case study of Huawei is the disproportionate impact of China (the boundaries between state-owned companies and private firms fade here) on cable construction project. This is important as digital infrastructures are seen as “ontological in shaping our wider political environment” (60). Munn places such infrastructure in the centre of a meta-struggle between X actors on one side trying to make technology align with registers of rule of law, national sovereignty, and individual rights inherent in democracy, and Y actors on the other side relying on technology for surveillance and national security.

[Christmas I]sland’s isolation is employed for a dual purpose: restricting the movement of detained individuals while also acting as a hub for undersea cable projects that enhance communication networks.

The concept of territories as a “framing device” (7) is constantly invoked to probe the relationship between technologies and power. The author eventually argues that territories, in their myriad forms, “imping[e] on lives of the marginal while enhancing the agencies of those deemed central” (79). This is illustrated through the detailed analysis of Christmas Island in Australia. The island’s isolation is employed for a dual purpose: restricting the movement of detained individuals while also acting as a hub for undersea cable projects that enhance communication networks. This dichotomy highlights the tension between hindering human mobility and promoting the flow of information. A parallel tension, between the “appropriation of land, the exploitation of the environment, and the violence done to bodies” and the unequal ways in which “technologies mediate information and facilitate extraction” (99) is presented by using Singapore as a case study.

The book touches upon national laws governing data collection and circulation, such as China’s Cybersecurity law, the US CLOUD Act, and Hong Kong’s Personal Data Ordinance. While Munn suggests these laws may not offer sufficient protection against data flow, he doesn’t delve deep into evidence-based analysis of the legislation. However, he adeptly discusses the intricacies of cloud architecture for readers. The penultimate chapter shows how cloud-based computing and edge-computing (processing data locally) operate differently yet come together as a system of control. The chapter echoes Foucault’s genealogy of power to understand how the old and more explicit forms of governance are replaced by the new models such as “cloud-edge formation of power” (125) demanding a complete revision of concepts like Decentralisation.

Munn’s work provides a new, imaginative framework to unpack relationalities between infrastructural operations, flow of capital, and flow of information

Munn’s work challenges readers to intertwine infrastructural and political theory with contemporary geopolitics. Its uniqueness stems from its narrative on the transformative impact of modern infrastructure on territorial boundaries. Technical territories are deeply political; they amplify state power and undermine the agency of individuals. Instead of being neutral models, these are infrastructures that “push and pull, ordering the world and jostling with others in a bid for primacy and position” (9). Munn’s work provides a new, imaginative framework to unpack relationalities between infrastructural operations, flow of capital, and flow of information – a triad that becomes increasingly important as digital governance becomes a dominant idea across democracies.

The author is grateful for inputs from Tekla Marie Emborg at the University of Groningen.

This post gives the views of the author, and not the position of the LSE Review of Books blog, or of the London School of Economics and Political Science. The LSE RB blog may receive a small commission if you choose to make a purchase through the above Amazon affiliate link. This is entirely independent of the coverage of the book on LSE Review of Books.

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