Platform Co-Ops: How Have We Got Here – and Where Do We Go Next?

Summary

“Inequality is one of the most important problems facing our society,” said Trebor Scholz, opening the first day of the Open:2017 platform co-operative conference.

In post-war United States, there was relatively little inequality with many positive developments, said Mr Scholz, citing the strength of unions and the strong purchasing power of middle classes. But from the late 1970s, things changed: capitalism became too successful for its own good, the productivity of workers increased and wages stagnated, with women becoming increasingly over-represented among those living in poverty.

This inequality now affects technology, too, he warned – asking “A small group of owners will soon be in charge of all artificial intelligence – what can co-ops contribute to the discussion about AI?”