Workshop by MOTIF
25 September 21, 2–5 pm
Venues: KW Institute for Contemporary Art, and on the Open Secret website
In German
The maximum number of visitors is limited. Please register in advance at mediation@kw-berlin.de.
This workshop is for everyone who is interested to learn about the hidden structures, functionalities, and working modalities on platforms like Uber, Gorillas, Helpling or Lieferando—and who would like to change something about it. It does not matter whether you have a scientific, artistic or activist background—or if you have been working for platforms yourself.
About
In the early days of the Internet, platforms were praised for their openness, and democratizing potential. They were presented as facilitators and enablers for workers, and it was promised that they would make labor more accessible and flexible. These narratives, however, veiled how these platforms instead contributed to the diminishing of workers’ rights.
With the public debate on current working conditions at Uber, Gorillas, or Helpling, it becomes clear that platforms do not diminish, but rather sustain power structures on the labor market and beyond. Algorithmic governance individualizes workers, obscures structures, and advances classism, sexism, and colonialism.
So, what if we could reset the current ‘politics of platforms’ (Gillespie, 2010), what would we do differently? What would it look like if we centered care, not extraction, in platform work? If we build platforms around trust, safety and solidarity? Is it at all possible?
In this co-creative workshop, participants will create collectively new proposals for platform work that are centered on care. All developed materials will be accessible on the Open Secret website for further contributions and interactions by users. The workshop will be accompanied by keynote input from guest speaker Lisa Bor.
Bios
MOTIF is an independent think tank that operates at the intersection of technology and society. In times of rapid technological change, we advise organisations and policymakers on responsible tech. We translate complex questions of the digital age into feasible formats. Our focus lies on artificial intelligence, mobility, and innovation. MOTIF was founded by Katrin Fritsch and Helene von Schwichow.
Lisa Bor researches technology and gender from a queerfeminist perspective, PhD at the Center for Women and Gender Studies. Has experience as a housecleaner.
