The future of digital platforms

AND ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

5th June 2025

5th June 2025

An initiative by Launchworks & Co

Platforms and their ecosystems are now part of our daily lives. They are redefining the way we work, the way we learn, how we innovate and how we collaborate. As a community of platform leaders, how do we ensure that the full potential of these digital ecosystems is realised for all?

What is Platform Leaders?

Platform Leaders brings together entrepreneurs, policy makers, academics, investors and practitioners to exchange insights and best practices on the future of digital platforms and ecosystems. These communities don’t always talk to each other, yet are collectively building the platform economy. Platform Leaders provides strategic insights into key topics and allow experts to share complementary perspectives to shape the debate so that the potential of digital markets can be unlocked for all.

Agenda

How can we combat misinformation and fake news on social media platforms? How should we regulate to promote both competition and consumer protection in a platform and AI-driven world? How can service marketplaces leverage AI effectively? Join us on June 5, 2025, as we address these crucial questions. Full programme to be announced shortly.

TheSpeakers

Below are confirmed speakers for 5 June 2025

Marshall Van Alstyne 2

Marshall Van Alstyne

Allen & Kelli Questrom Chair Professor, Boston University
Annabelle Gawer Platform Leaders

Annabelle Gawer

Chaired Professor in Digital Economy; Director Surrey CoDE
Laure Claire Reillier Launchworks & Co Platform Leaders

Laure Claire Reillier

Co-Founder & COO Launchworks & Co
Benoit Reillier - The Future of Platform Leaders

Benoit Reillier

Co-Founder and CEO Launchworks & Co
TheAgenda

3:30PM – 3:35PM

WELCOME TALK

Introducing Platform Leaders.

Laure Claire Reillier

COO Launchworks & Co

Co-author of Platform Strategy

3:35PM – 4:00PM

KEYNOTE: THE MISINFORMATION MACHINE – SOCIAL MEDIA, FAKE NEWS, AND THE FUTURE OF TRUTH

Misinformation and fake news have emerged as defining challenges of our era, capable of shaping public opinion, influencing elections, and impacting public health. In this insightful keynote, Professor Marshall Van Alstyne, co-author of Platform Revolution and a leading expert on platform economics, will address why existing regulatory and legal frameworks for social media struggle to address misinformation effectively. Drawing from his latest research, Marshall will propose a unique and innovative set of interventions designed to empower users and reduce negative externalities such as misinformation, hate speech, and illegal content on social media.

How can shifting central control from social media networks to users enhance the integrity of online discourse? What are "listener rights," and how can the concept of a "marketplace of filters" enable users to better control their exposure to content? What insights can we gain from recent experiments and regulatory approaches designed to manage misinformation through user-driven decentralised solutions? What practical steps should policymakers, platform leaders and users take to build healthier, more transparent social networks and digital communities?

Prof. Marshall Van Alstyne

Allen & Kelli Questrom Chair Professor in IS, Business University, Digital Fellow MIT

4:00PM – 4:40PM

REGULATING FOR GROWTH

The UK is at a pivotal moment in shaping the regulatory landscape for digital markets. With the Digital Markets, Competition and Consumers Act (DMCCA) coming into force, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) is adopting a new, more proactive approach to overseeing major digital platforms. This includes its four P framework—Pace, Predictability, Proportionality, and Process—aimed at ensuring that regulatory interventions support competition, innovation, and economic growth while protecting consumers.

How will this new regime encourage investment and innovation with ensuring fair competition? And what does this mean for the UK’s position in global digital markets, especially in relation to regulatory approaches in other countries? How to ensure interventions contribute to economic growth?

4:40PM – 5:20PM

AI DISRUPTION AND OPPORTUNITIES FOR YOUR BUSINESS: THE CASE OF SERVICE MARKETPLACES

AI is reshaping the landscape of service marketplaces—redefining user experience, personalising offerings, optimising matchmaking, and streamlining operations at scale. Yet, AI's impact isn't uniformly positive; in some instances, it has the power to disintermediate entire markets, creating significant disruption. This panel will explore real-world use cases and provide actionable insights on harnessing AI to boost efficiency, enhance customer satisfaction, and drive marketplace growth. Additionally, it will address the critical challenges and risks posed by AI, particularly the potential disintermediation of platform participants.

What are the primary opportunities and risks presented by AI? How should marketplaces prepare for, respond to, or pivot when AI threatens to desintermediate one side of their platform?

5:20PM – 5:30PM

CONFERENCE WRAP UP

Closing remarks and key insights from the event by our conference co-chair.

Benoit Reillier

CEO Launchworks & Co

Co-author of Platform Strategy