In an era where Artificial Intelligence is reshaping every sector, cooperatives face a unique challenge — and opportunity. How can they harness technological innovation without compromising the very values that define them: democracy, solidarity, and collective ownership? This reflection, led by Ana Rita Antunes, Executive Coordinator at Coopérnico, explores how AI can become a genuine ally of cooperative governance — empowering members, strengthening transparency, and ensuring that digital transformation serves people, not the other way around.
Cooperatives are collectively owned enterprises, democratically managed by their members. Cooperatives, with values such as solidarity, equity and care for the community and the planet, operate in the open market in direct competition in the various sectors in which they operate, where there are also private and public companies. On the other hand, they must promote the active participation of their members, particularly in general meetings, ensuring that members democratically control the cooperative and can actively participate in policy-making and critical decision-making based on the “one member, one vote” rule.
Artificial intelligence has already entered private companies to optimise processes in various areas. In energy cooperatives, it will be relevant to improve processes and energy forecasting, both in production and supply. Access to technology is essential for cooperatives to be competitive with private companies, even if we have different values. In this access to technology, the issue of opportunity cost is relevant, as cooperatives have the capital available that their members decide democratically at the general meeting.
Governance is an essential part of cooperatives, as it is what distinguishes them from private companies in practice. Can artificial intelligence be a tool to encourage member participation or, on the contrary, can it discourage direct participation? Can the democratic structure of cooperatives be threatened by AI or can it be encouraged?
Artificial Intelligence in Cooperatives: Balancing Innovation and Democratic Values
Cooperatives represent a unique model of economic organisation, where collective ownership and democratic management merge with values such as solidarity, equity and commitment to the community and the environment. In a market dominated by private companies — driven by profit — and public entities — often limited by bureaucracy — cooperatives stand out for their ability to reconcile efficiency with ethics, competition with cooperation. This delicate balance makes Artificial Intelligence (AI) both a tool with transformative potential and a source of profound challenges. The central question is not only how to adopt AI, but also how to define its scope in the activities carried out by cooperatives, as well as its role in governance, a pillar of these organisations.
AI can be a catalyst for opportunities for cooperatives. In energy cooperatives, for example, machine learning algorithms can optimise production and consumption forecasts, optimising systems and making renewable energy more accessible and cheaper for vulnerable communities. In agriculture, real-time data analysis enables more sustainable resource management, aligning productivity with environmental responsibility. Even in sectors such as retail or housing, AI can free up capital through operational efficiency, reinvesting it in projects that directly benefit members. But its potential goes beyond mere optimisation: AI can strengthen internal democracy. Smart voting platforms, automatic translation in assemblies, or data analysis systems that make decisions more transparent are examples of how technology can increase participation, especially in cooperatives with geographically dispersed members or with different levels of literacy.
However, the risks are as real as the opportunities. The greatest danger is not the technology itself, but how it is implemented. The dehumanisation of governance is a real threat: if AI starts making critical decisions — such as credit allocation or supplier selection — members may feel alienated from the democratic process that defines cooperatives. Furthermore, algorithms are not neutral. When trained with biased historical data, algorithms can reproduce or even exacerbate inequalities, favouring, for example, urban members over rural ones. Another challenge is opportunity cost: while large companies invest heavily in AI, cooperatives’ capital comes from their members, who have limited resources, which can create a digital divide between those who can adopt these technologies and those who are left behind. And perhaps most worrying is the centralisation of power: if only a technical elite manages AI, the ‘one member, one vote’ rule can become an empty formality. Whoever controls the technology will control the cooperative — and that is a risk to its democratic essence.
Privacy and data sovereignty are other critical issues. Cooperatives deal with sensitive information, from members’ financial data to consumption or health patterns. Without strict ethical protocols, AI can expose this data to unauthorised commercial uses, undermining the trust that is the foundation of any cooperative. In sectors such as health and energy, where data is particularly sensitive, a lack of transparency can have serious consequences, not only for members but also for the organisation’s reputation.
Faced with these challenges, the way forward is not to reject AI, but to adopt it critically and in line with cooperative values. This means requiring all algorithms to be explainable and auditable, investing in training and digital literacy so that members can actively participate in technological decisions, and developing cooperative AI models, such as open source or shared solutions between cooperatives, which reduce costs and avoid dependence on large technology companies. Above all, AI should be used to facilitate democracy, never to replace it. Algorithms can propose options based on data, but the final decision must always rest with the assembly, ensuring that technology serves the members — and not the other way around.
AI in cooperatives is not just a technical issue, but a political and ethical one. Its success will depend on the ability to keep alive the spirit that has always defined these organisations: the most important thing is the members and the democratic governance model. Technology must serve the purposes of organisations, not become an end in itself. The challenge is enormous, but the reward of a fairer, more sustainable and democratic economy is well worth the effort.
Ana Rita Antunes
Executive coordinator
Coopérnico
