Digital spatial technologies and the mode of production
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Mahmoudi, Dillon, Jim Thatcher, Laura Beltz Imaoka, and David O’Sullivan. 2024. “From FOSS to Profit: Digital Spatial Technologies and the Mode of Production.” Digital Geography and Society 7 (December):100101. doi:10.1016/j.diggeo.2024.100101. Digital Geography & Society open access
Summary
Another excuse to work with Jim Thatcher, Laura Beltz Imaoka, and David O’Sullivan. And to be clear this isn’t an attack on open source software or contributors, but an analysis on how they are captured for for-profit motives. We note that current discussions around geospatial technologies often explore their transformative potential, emphasizing how open-source software and open standards could decentralize control and democratize access.
However, this article takes a different approach, analyzing these tools through the lens of the mode of production. Rather than viewing open-source initiatives purely as liberating forces, we focus on how these technologies can evolve into proprietary, profit-driven tools. This shift is not a critique of open-source software itself, but rather a close examination of how capitalist interests leverage open-source projects for corporate gain. By drawing attention to the political economy surrounding spatial technologies, we aim to reveal the deeper social relations and development processes that influence widely used geospatial data formats like GeoJSON and Esri Shapefile.
Through tracing the historical evolution of these formats, we uncover how digital labor—whether voluntary, outsourced, or co-opted—plays a role in shaping the operations of for-profit technology firms. Open standards, often associated with transparency and accessibility, paradoxically contribute to proprietary goals as well, serving as gateways through which corporations can attract free labor and build out profitable infrastructures. Companies often adopt open standards and Free and Open Source Software (FOSS) products not as ends in themselves, but as a means to strengthen their proprietary ecosystems. For instance, open-source components can be incorporated into larger, closed-source products or used to capture data that feeds into exclusive, corporate-owned services. This pattern reflects a larger trend where open-source technologies can be co-opted as tools within capitalist systems, fostering both voluntary contributions and creating new dependencies on proprietary platforms.
Ultimately, this article argues that the convergence of open and proprietary geospatial technologies exemplifies the ways in which seemingly independent open-source initiatives may be enrolled into the larger structures of capital accumulation. The ongoing incorporation of FOSS into corporate agendas, combined with the rapid development of geospatial data formats and software, reveals the pervasive influence of capitalist structures on digital tools. In understanding these dynamics, we can better appreciate how open-source projects are often less free of proprietary influence than they appear, underscoring the importance of critically engaging with the broader forces shaping today’s digital landscape.