Building a Solidarity Ecosystem for AI (ssir.org)

A new initiative has been proposed to address the significant challenges posed by the current AI labor model, which has led to severe psychological harm among content moderators working for major platforms like Facebook and OpenAI. These workers, often subjected to traumatic content with little support, face dire consequences, including mental health issues and exploitative working conditions. The idea of a “solidarity stack” has emerged as a transformative framework for rethinking the digital economy, emphasizing cooperative ownership, ethical governance, and community-focused AI approaches. The solidarity stack seeks to dismantle the existing “extraction stack,” where power and profits are concentrated within a few corporations. Instead, it advocates for democratic governance of AI’s infrastructure, encompassing responsible data management, equitable labor practices, and collectively governed knowledge systems. Early examples of this approach include the Gamayyar African Tech Workers Cooperative in Kenya, which aims to develop locally grounded AI models under worker ownership, and initiatives in Argentina and the UK that deploy participatory methods in technology design. By fostering a cooperative digital economy, the solidarity stack not only aims to empower marginalized workers but also seeks to ensure that AI technologies serve broader societal needs and values, rather than perpetuating harm and inequity.