(image from pexels.com)
By Shaista Keating
Artificial intelligence (AI) is transforming every aspect of our lives, from how humans communicate, learn, and work to how we participate in our society, economy, and democracy. Despite technological advancements, more than one-fourth of humanity remains unconnected, meaning they lack access to basic internet services, according to a November 2025 report from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU).
Information and communication technologies (ICT) — a broad term encompassing tools and resources such as the internet, mobile devices, computers, and digital platforms — are essential for living life in the 21st century. The inability to access and use these technologies prevents individuals and communities from advancing in education, healthcare, economic participation, and civic engagement. Those with devices often do not have the skills to use technology in meaningful ways. This lack of access is not just a technological challenge. It is a humanitarian crisis.
Against this backdrop, there is another digital divide already taking shape: the AI divide. Together, the private, public, academic, and nonprofit sectors must actively address this widening gap through fierce multi-sector collaboration.
State Of The Current Digital Divide
The status quo is not serving massive swaths of the human population. We do not have the luxury to sit on the sidelines while the digital divide — the lack of basic access to digital tools and the internet — remains a pressing and paramount challenge. In America alone, 23.9 million people do not have access to the internet according to the report “Digital 2025” from DataReportal (https://bit.ly/4puCMBB). The World Bank Group notes that achieving universal broadband access will require an estimated US$400 billion by 2030 (https://bit.ly/48JCXlq). This figure illustrates the monumental financial investment needed to close the digital divide.
A vast majority of people in high-income countries enjoy regular internet access and this disparity reflects a broader issue: The digital divide is a driving force behind the inequality of development between nations. This gap is not just between rich and poor nations. It also exists within countries themselves, particularly among rural and low-income populations.
Global Disparities In Digital Access
The digital divide impacts countries differently, with varying levels of access across income groups and geographic regions:
* High-Income Countries: While 94% of people in high-income countries have regular internet access, inequalities persist within these nations, particularly among low-income or rural populations. For instance, rural communities in the U.S. face limited broadband access, hindering opportunities in education and telemedicine.
* Low-Income Countries: In contrast, only 23% of people in low-income countries have regular internet access. In nations like Uganda, limited infrastructure prevents widespread adoption.
* Emerging Economies: Countries like India and Brazil are seeing rapid increases in internet adoption, but significant gaps remain in rural areas and among marginalized communities. These gaps hinder the ability to fully capitalize on digital economic opportunities or deliver equitable services.
Risk Of The AI Divide
The AI divide, a second digital divide, is upon us. This new divide has widespread implications for economic growth, social development, and global competitiveness, threatening the most vulnerable in unacceptable ways.
Meaningful adoption of AI to scale social impact for our communities demands a robust technical infrastructure, models, tools, data, talent, and immense investment capacity. Lack of resources has rendered structural limitations traditionally and will become an even larger barrier to economic progress, leaving much of the world behind.
Although the AI market is likely to reach a staggering $1,339 billion by 2030, with marked growth from its estimated $214 billion revenue in 2024, most of this growth will likely be realized in America and China, according to data from MarketsandMarkets (https://bit.ly/4s9phJB). Structural limitations, marked by gaps between the Global North and Global South will continue to widen due to the AI divide between developed nations and resource-constrained countries.
Multi-Sector Collaboration: A 21st Century Imperative
Preventing a second, deeper digital divide requires concerted efforts from the private, public, academic, and nonprofit sectors. No one sector can address this challenge in isolation. Collaboration across these sectors is essential to ensure digital inclusion, particularly for marginalized populations. It is a collective responsibility to provide access to ICTs so that all people, regardless of their socioeconomic or geographic status, can fully participate in a world powered by AI.
Governments have a role to play in enacting bold reforms, such as investing in digital infrastructure and ensuring affordable internet access for all citizens. Regulations should enhance trust in AI. Policies and guidelines must be defined at the state, national, and global levels to ensure that new technologies are serving humans in a fair and equitable manner.
In the United States, the federal and state governments must prioritize allocating resources to enable affordable high-speed internet and AI enablement. The European Union must continue to invest in the Digital Europe Programme, (https://bit.ly/4psrLkl) allocating €7.5 billion to five key areas: supercomputing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, advanced digital skills, and the integration of digital technologies across the economy. Asia, Africa, and Latin America must launch thoughtful digital inclusion initiatives. As an example, India’s Digital India Campaign (https://www.digitalindia.gov.in/) addresses the digital divide by providing digital infrastructure, digital literacy, and digital services across the country.
The private sector must not only contribute larger sums of money through Corporate Social Responsibility programs but also innovate to make technology more affordable and accessible by fiercely investing in research and development. Corporations must also continuously evaluate and mitigate risks while pursuing opportunities that are presented by emerging technologies like AI and quantum computing to build a “future of work” where humans thrive.
Academics should define meaningful frameworks to reduce redundancies so that investments in civil society are maximized by working together and complementing services for communities as opposed to competing for limited resources and wasting opportunities to become more efficient. Professors must also facilitate multi-sector collaboration grounded in research about AI’s impact on those who need us most.
Nonprofits are uniquely positioned to represent the needs of marginalized communities and ensure that those at risk of being left behind are included in digital inclusion efforts. We must become the voice for children, the elderly, the poor, the unemployed, and all whom are served on a daily basis.
Government officials, private-sector executives, professors, and nonprofit professionals must collaborate fiercely to create a global ecosystem for digital transformation in the wake of AI. Together, everyone must champion civil society to build a better future for all. This ecosystem should encourage the development of public-private partnerships, employ corporate social responsibility initiatives, facilitate research, and involve community-based organizations to implement focused digital inclusion programs. To effectively scale digital inclusion and help all people participate in our economy, society, and democracy, everyone must be invited to the table.
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Shaista Keating is Vice President of Development, and Global Head of Emerging Corporate Alliances at TechSoup.
