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🎙 InnovEU S5E6 - Cory Doctorow on When Do Platforms Stop Innovating and Start Extracting?
And more importantly:
Why do democracies keep reinforcing them even after value creation flips into value extraction?
That’s the uncomfortable question we tackle in this new episode of InnovEU – The EU Project Chronicles.
Because this is not a tech debate.
It is a structural economic transition.
In this episode with CORY DOCTOROW, you’ll discover:
* Why platform capitalism follows a predictable lifecycle: create → consolidate → extract
* How “enshittification” reduces innovation and traps SMEs in dependency loops
* Why venture-capital logic pushes ecosystems toward rent extraction
* How value shifts from users and entrepreneurs to shareholders
* Why democratic systems hesitate to intervene - even when innovation declines
* What this means for EU-funded projects, AI ecosystems, and digital sovereignty
If you work with Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, or innovation funding, this episode is not optional.
Because funding decisions are being shaped by platform dynamics most people are not measuring.
Why this matters for EU-funded projects
Platforms initially reduce friction.
They create markets.
They enable experimentation.
But once consolidation happens:
* APIs close
* Fees increase
* Visibility becomes pay-to-play
* Innovation becomes gatekeeper-dependent
When extraction replaces creation, ecosystems weaken.
And if public funding reinforces extractive architectures, we subsidize the decline of our own innovation capacity.
This is where platform capitalism meets Transition Science.
▶️ Watch or Listen to the Full Episode
🎥 Watch on Substackhttps://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast
🎥 Watch on YouTubehttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx&si=2fr5iVhGLEwo2F3j
🎧 Listen on Spotify
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts
📘 Economic transitions decide funding success before proposals do
Most EU project failures are explained after submission.They are decided much earlier.
Projects fail when they misread the structural direction of the economy they are targeting.
Green, digital, security, and housing transitions are no longer separate policy lanes.They interact, constrain each other, and shape funding priorities.
This week, I published a transition blueprint that goes beyond GDP and headline indicators.It uses long-run data to show where Europe, the US, and emerging blocs are structurally aligned with future funding logic, and where they are not.
For researchers, project leaders, and innovation managers, this is not theory.It is context awareness.
Better transition alignment leads to better project positioning.
👉 Full access to the transition analysis here:https://open.substack.com/pub/fernandocgaspar/p/beyond-gdp-economic-transitions-2025
📚 My New Book - Now Available
If you want the full framework behind this episode:
Transition Science In The EconomyGreen, digital, war economy, new globalization and housing transitions explained through long-run data.
👉 Buy the book here:https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4
If you enjoyed this episode, the book will deepen your lens.
🛠 My Digital Tools for EU Projects
Want to improve funding success and save time?
🔹 GPT SmartProposalAI
Your AI co-pilot for improving EU proposals line by line using evaluator criteria.Improves clarity. Strengthens impact logic. Saves hours of rewriting.
👉 https://rpb.li/YAm2E
🔹 GPT to Build Winning Consortia
A practical tool to map, assess and strengthen partnerships so you build resilient, high-scoring consortia - not fragile alliances.
👉 https://payhip.com/b/vEPZd
Used by project managers, researchers, universities and SMEs across Europe.
🚀 Let’s Grow This Community Together
If this episode challenged your thinking:
👍 Like the podcast on your favorite platform⭐ Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app
🔁 Restack this post on Substack
💬 Leave a comment - I read every one
📤 Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects and innovation
🔗 Follow me on LinkedIn for shorter insights:https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/
And if you would like to be featured in InnovEU:
📩 Send me a private message and let’s schedule your episode.
Because Europe’s transitions are already shaping our future.
And your project might be part of that story.
Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe
View all episodes
By Fernando C. GasparAnd more importantly:
Why do democracies keep reinforcing them even after value creation flips into value extraction?
That’s the uncomfortable question we tackle in this new episode of InnovEU – The EU Project Chronicles.
Because this is not a tech debate.
It is a structural economic transition.
In this episode with CORY DOCTOROW, you’ll discover:
* Why platform capitalism follows a predictable lifecycle: create → consolidate → extract
* How “enshittification” reduces innovation and traps SMEs in dependency loops
* Why venture-capital logic pushes ecosystems toward rent extraction
* How value shifts from users and entrepreneurs to shareholders
* Why democratic systems hesitate to intervene - even when innovation declines
* What this means for EU-funded projects, AI ecosystems, and digital sovereignty
If you work with Horizon Europe, Digital Europe, or innovation funding, this episode is not optional.
Because funding decisions are being shaped by platform dynamics most people are not measuring.
Why this matters for EU-funded projects
Platforms initially reduce friction.
They create markets.
They enable experimentation.
But once consolidation happens:
* APIs close
* Fees increase
* Visibility becomes pay-to-play
* Innovation becomes gatekeeper-dependent
When extraction replaces creation, ecosystems weaken.
And if public funding reinforces extractive architectures, we subsidize the decline of our own innovation capacity.
This is where platform capitalism meets Transition Science.
▶️ Watch or Listen to the Full Episode
🎥 Watch on Substackhttps://fernandocgaspar.substack.com/podcast
🎥 Watch on YouTubehttps://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLhPsYe80-Wq1bOuVZmZGso_Kr3W8biIpx&si=2fr5iVhGLEwo2F3j
🎧 Listen on Spotify
🎧 Listen on Apple Podcasts
📘 Economic transitions decide funding success before proposals do
Most EU project failures are explained after submission.They are decided much earlier.
Projects fail when they misread the structural direction of the economy they are targeting.
Green, digital, security, and housing transitions are no longer separate policy lanes.They interact, constrain each other, and shape funding priorities.
This week, I published a transition blueprint that goes beyond GDP and headline indicators.It uses long-run data to show where Europe, the US, and emerging blocs are structurally aligned with future funding logic, and where they are not.
For researchers, project leaders, and innovation managers, this is not theory.It is context awareness.
Better transition alignment leads to better project positioning.
👉 Full access to the transition analysis here:https://open.substack.com/pub/fernandocgaspar/p/beyond-gdp-economic-transitions-2025
📚 My New Book - Now Available
If you want the full framework behind this episode:
Transition Science In The EconomyGreen, digital, war economy, new globalization and housing transitions explained through long-run data.
👉 Buy the book here:https://a.co/d/c7RoOA4
If you enjoyed this episode, the book will deepen your lens.
🛠 My Digital Tools for EU Projects
Want to improve funding success and save time?
🔹 GPT SmartProposalAI
Your AI co-pilot for improving EU proposals line by line using evaluator criteria.Improves clarity. Strengthens impact logic. Saves hours of rewriting.
👉 https://rpb.li/YAm2E
🔹 GPT to Build Winning Consortia
A practical tool to map, assess and strengthen partnerships so you build resilient, high-scoring consortia - not fragile alliances.
👉 https://payhip.com/b/vEPZd
Used by project managers, researchers, universities and SMEs across Europe.
🚀 Let’s Grow This Community Together
If this episode challenged your thinking:
👍 Like the podcast on your favorite platform⭐ Subscribe on Substack or any podcast app
🔁 Restack this post on Substack
💬 Leave a comment - I read every one
📤 Share it with colleagues working on EU-funded projects and innovation
🔗 Follow me on LinkedIn for shorter insights:https://www.linkedin.com/in/fernandoacgaspar/
And if you would like to be featured in InnovEU:
📩 Send me a private message and let’s schedule your episode.
Because Europe’s transitions are already shaping our future.
And your project might be part of that story.
Get full access to Polis Doxa - The Transitions Letter at fernandocgaspar.substack.com/subscribe