Closing the digital divide as we enter the Intelligent Age

By World Economic Forum. Published January 1, 2025.

Summary: Examines persistent digital-divide barriers, including disability and broadband access, as AI becomes central to economic participation.

Relevance: Fits Inequality & Algorithmic Harm and Labor & Economy: quantifies how AI-driven automation and broadband gaps compound existing racial and gender inequities that social workers’ clients already navigate around employment and income.

Key findings: Black workers are cited as 10% more likely to hold roles targeted for automation, with AI projected to disrupt 4.5 million jobs held by Black workers specifically; nearly 24 million people in the U.S. lack high-speed broadband, and about 82% of HBCUs sit in broadband deserts. The piece frames the racial wealth gap as costing the U.S. economy $1-1.5 trillion between 2019 and 2028 if unaddressed.

Read the original: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2025/01/digital-divide-intelligent-age-how-everyone-can-benefit-ai/