Cooperative models for sustainable digital infrastructure: Lessons from READ-COOP and Transkribus

This poster explores the development and success of READ-COOP, (https://readcoop.eu) a European Cooperative Society that hosts Transkribus (https://transkribus.org), the Automated Text Recognition platform for producing accurate transcriptions of historical documents. Originating from European Commission-funded projects (2013-19), in its post-funded phase READ-COOP adopted a cooperative business model, focusing on democratic control and reinvestment of revenue into its services rather than shareholder profit (ICA 2024). As of December 2024, READ-COOP has 237 members from 35 countries and had facilitated over 100 million pages of document transcriptions, demonstrating a sustainable alternative to conventional data-centric business models.

Reflecting on five years’ post-EC funding from 2019, this poster uses Transkribus to examine community engagement and governance of responsible and sustainable AI infrastructures (Université de Montreal 2018). READ-COOP exemplifies how public-funded projects can transition into community-supported entities that prioritize accessibility, transparency, and responsibility, thereby opposing the monopolistic tendencies seen in most commercial digital infrastructures (Huberman 2022).

This poster advocates for a shift towards cooperative models in sustaining digital platforms (Scholz 2023), suggesting that such frameworks can effectively support the development of responsible and trustworthy AI across various sectors (Terras et al Forthcoming 2025). It argues for a more democratized technology landscape where users benefit from equitable and inclusive infrastructure management: Transkribus’ success demonstrates this potential.