Keynesianism in the Age of Platform Capitalism and AI

Author's Information:

Fernando C. Gaspar

ISCAL, Portugal

Vol 02 No 12 (2025):Volume 02 Issue 12 December 2025

Page No.: 1444-1455

Abstract:

The rapid adoption of artificial intelligence (AI) and platform capitalism is reshaping economic structures, labor markets, and wealth distribution. This paper examines the continued relevance of Keynesianism in addressing the economic disruptions caused by AI-driven automation and the dominance of digital platforms such as Google, Meta, and Amazon. While Keynesian economic theory has historically provided policy frameworks for full employment and economic stability, the emergence of jobless productivity growth, wealth concentration in digital monopolies, and algorithmic control over demand challenges the effectiveness of traditional Keynesian interventions.

Through a combination of theoretical analysis and empirical case studies, this study evaluates how Keynesian policies—such as fiscal stimulus, public investment, and progressive taxation—must evolve to remain effective in an AI-driven economy. The findings suggest that while Keynesianism remains a valuable tool for mitigating economic instability, it requires adaptations, including the taxation of digital monopolies, universal basic income (UBI) trials, AI-driven workforce reskilling, and stronger antitrust regulations.

Furthermore, the paper explores alternative and complementary economic models, including post-Keynesianism, welfare economics, and innovation-led growth strategies, to address labor market disruptions and rising inequality. The study concludes that Keynesianism can still serve as a foundation for economic policy but must be reimagined to regulate platform capitalism, redistribute AI-generated wealth, and ensure broad-based prosperity in the 21st-century economy.

KeyWords:

Keynesianism, Artificial Intelligence, Platform Capitalism, Automation, Universal Basic Income, Economic Policy, Digital Monopolies, Technological Unemployment.

References:

  1. Acemoglu, D. and Restrepo, P. (2020) 'Robots and Jobs: Evidence from US Labor Markets', Journal of Political Economy, 128(6), pp. 2188-2244. doi: 10.1086/705716.
  2. Ahmed, T. and Meehan, N. (2012) Advanced Reservoir Management and Engineering. 2nd edn. Amsterdam: Gulf Professional Publishing.
  3. Almeida, R., Behrman, J.R. and Robalino, D.A. (2012) The Right Skills for the Job? Rethinking Training Policies for Workers. Washington, DC: World Bank Publications. Available at: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/13075.
  4. Autor, D.H. (2015) 'Why Are There Still So Many Jobs? The History and Future of Workplace Automation', Journal of Economic Perspectives, 29(3), pp. 3-30. doi: 10.1257/jep.29.3.3.
  5. Brynjolfsson, E. and McAfee, A. (2014) The Second Machine Age: Work, Progress, and Prosperity in a Time of Brilliant Technologies. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
  6. Brynjolfsson, E., Rock, D. and Syverson, C. (2018) 'Artificial Intelligence and the Modern Productivity Paradox: A Clash of Expectations and Statistics', in Agrawal, A., Gans, J. and Goldfarb, A. (eds.) The Economics of Artificial Intelligence: An Agenda. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, pp. 23-57. doi: 10.7208/chicago/9780226613475.003.0002.
  7. Bundesministerium für Wirtschaft und Energie (2020) Industrie 4.0: Germany's Strategy for the Digital Future. Available at: https://www.bmwi.de/Redaktion/EN/Dossier/industry-4-0.html.
  8. Clayden, J., Greeves, N. and Warren, S. (2012) Organic Chemistry. 2nd edn. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
  9. Crandell, K.A. (ed.) (1999) The Evolution of HIV. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins Press.
  10. Department of Health (2011) 'Flu Jabs as Important as Travel Vaccines'. Available at: https://www.gov.uk/government/news/flu-jabs-as-important-as-travel-vaccines.
  11. European Commission (2021) 'The Digital Markets Act: Ensuring Fair and Open Digital Markets'. Available at: https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/en/IP_20_2347.
  12. Forget, E.L. (2018) 'Basic Income for Canadians: The Key to a Healthier, Happier, More Secure Life for All'. Toronto: James Lorimer & Company.
  13. Frey, C.B. and Osborne, M.A. (2017) 'The Future of Employment: How Susceptible Are Jobs to Computerisation?', Technological Forecasting and Social Change, 114, pp. 254-280. doi: 10.1016/j.techfore.2016.08.019.
  14. Goodfellow, I., Bengio, Y. and Courville, A. (2016) Deep Learning. Cambridge, MA: MIT Press.
  15. Jackson, T. (2017) Prosperity without Growth: Foundations for the Economy of Tomorrow. 2nd edn. London: Routledge.
  16. Kahneman, D. (2011) Thinking, Fast and Slow. London: Penguin Books.
  17. Kangas, O., Jauhiainen, S., Simanainen, M. and Ylikännö, M. (2019) 'The Basic Income Experiment 2017–2018 in Finland: Preliminary Results'. Helsinki: Ministry of Social Affairs and Health. Available at: http://urn.fi/URN:ISBN:978-952-00-4035-2.
  18. Kenney, M. and Zysman, J. (2016) 'The Rise of the Platform Economy', Issues in Science and Technology, 32(3), pp. 61-69. Available at: https://issues.org/kenney/.
  19. Kim, J. (2021) 'South Korea's AI Strategy and Digital New Deal', Journal of International and Area Studies, 28(1), pp. 1-18. doi: 10.2307/26973990.
  20. Langley, P. and Leyshon, A. (2017) 'Platform Capitalism: The Intermediation and Capitalisation of Digital Economic Circulation', Finance and Society, 3(1), pp. 11-31. doi: 10.2218/finsoc.v3i1.1936.
  21. Lavoie, M. (2014) Post-Keynesian Economics: New Foundations. Cheltenham: Edward Elgar Publishing.
  22. Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (2011) 'Divided We Stand: Why Inequality Keeps Rising'. Paris: OECD Publishing. doi: 10.1787/9789264119536-en.
  23. Rahman, K.S. and Thelen, K. (2019) 'The Rise of the Platform Business Model and the Transformation of Twenty-First-Century Capitalism', Politics & Society, 47(2), pp. 177-204. doi: 10.1177/0032329219838932.
  24. Srnicek, N. (2017) Platform Capitalism. Cambridge: Polity Press.
  25. Standing, G. (2017) Basic Income: And How We Can Make It Happen. London: Pelican.
  26. Stiglitz, J.E. (2018) Globalization and Its Discontents Revisited: Anti-Globalization in the Era of Trump. New York: W.W. Norton & Company.
  27. Tan, C. (2020) 'Singapore's National AI Strategy: Key Enablers and Implementation', AI Magazine, 41(1), pp. 68-72. doi: 10.1609/aimag.v41i1.5285.
  28. Van Parijs, P. and Vanderborght, Y. (2017) Basic Income: A Radical Proposal for a Free Society and a Sane Economy. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  29. Wexler, P., van der Kolk, J., Mohapatra, A. and Gad, S.C. (2011) Information Resources in Toxicology. 4th edn. Amsterdam: Elsevier.