2.6 billion people still lack access to the internet, let alone the benefits of Artificial Intelligence (AI). As AI continues to rapidly reshape our world, the question isn’t just about innovation—it’s about who gets left behind.
The glossy and rapid expansion of Artificial Intelligence and its promise of transforming every aspect of our lives is tarnished by a growing undercurrent of exclusion. This raises the question – who will reap the benefits from this transformative technology and who will be left behind?
From the viewpoint of a digital inclusion advocate, there is a pressing need for open dialogue on the challenges and potential harms artificial intelligence (AI) could exacerbate for underserved and marginalized communities. Unnerved by the vast and growing impact AI is having on people’s everyday lives, this blog explores how AI could bridge and deepen the digital divide, and what we must do to ensure it becomes a force for inclusion rather than exclusion.
The Promise of AI for Inclusion
At its core, AI has the potential to bridge large gaps in time, access to resources, and opportunities. Countless AI-driven solutions particularly in healthcare, education, and financial services offer new ways to deliver essential services remotely in countries with limited infrastructure.
Healthcare workers in Uganda are now equipped with AI-driven tools to track and monitor disease outbreaks through the collection of health data that can validate and distribute a quick response in the event of an epidemic via the Health Management Information System (HMIS) MTrac. Ed-tech platform M-Shule is also pioneering the delivery of personalized education to hard-to-reach populations in Kenya. There also remains untapped potential for AI to revolutionize access to life-changing solutions in areas including financial literacy, micro-loans, and other financial products democratizing access to banking through mobile-based solutions. These solutions offer life-changing opportunities for people in remote areas and unbanked last-mile populations who often face difficulties in accessing the resources available to other more connected populations.
These innovative solutions showcase the potential for AI to significantly level the playing field, enabling greater participation in the digital economy and improving the lives of millions. But it’s not that simple. The very nature of AI — powered by vast amounts of data, complex algorithms, and powerful computing — could inadvertently widen the gap between those with access to advanced technologies and those without.
The Digital Divide: AI’s Double-Edged Sword
The digital divide — the gap between those with access to digital tools and those without — is unfortunately not a new concept, and despite AI’s potential, it also brings about new and more complex challenges to this phenomenon.
AI systems are often built with data collected from Western and more technologically advanced societies, meaning that these datasets frequently fail to reflect and cater to the needs, languages, and cultural contexts of those in the Global Majority world, and marginalized urban communities. WAYE Founder Sinead Bovell also alluded to such saying, ‘If we don’t fix the data or fix the access gaps, where women were excluded in studies directly targeting them, we run the risk of codifying inequality into the future.’
The detrimental impact of codifying inequality can be seen in the 2019 study by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which tested 189 facial recognition technologies. Findings reflected a strong bias against people with darker skin tones, disproportionately affecting people of African and Asian descent creating a barrier for already marginalized groups. In addition, the study also identified a gender and age bias in the algorithm used.
Beyond the external challenges that certain users face when interacting with AI tools plagued with biases, these platforms also require certain levels of digital literacy to engage safely and effectively. Yet, millions of people, particularly in rural areas, lack the skills or access to training to navigate these systems. For AI to truly foster inclusion, it must go hand-in-hand with widespread efforts to improve digital literacy — something that remains an uphill battle for many low-income and rural populations.
The Unequal Distribution of Meaningful Connectivity
One of the most significant barriers to digital inclusion in the age of AI is the unequal distribution of connectivity infrastructure essential to enable internet access and the use of AI technologies. Starting with the 2.6 billion who lack any connectivity to the internet let alone being meaningfully connected–at the right speed of at least 4G, with unlimited access to data and daily access to a broadband connection–many more are excluded from this transformative promise often touted in the benefits of AI. This divide has a disparate impact on those in the Global Majority who are too frequently left behind and locked out of the very local innovation opportunities that could dramatically lift their socioeconomic status thus deepening technological and socioeconomic divides.
The Ethical Imperative: Human Rights and AI
AI’s effect on humanity is no doubt at the core of its complexity. While AI’s potential to advance innovation can power social and economic development, the adverse impact it could have on humanity raises poignant questions about accountability and the fundamental protection of human rights in AI design, deployment, and use.
As AI systems become more pervasive, the decisions — whether in school admissions, hiring, credit scoring, or policing — will have growing real-world implications for people’s lives. Without proper safeguards, these systems could perpetuate existing biases or create new forms of discrimination. AI systems that rely on historical data could reinforce systemic inequalities, such as racial discrimination or gender bias if the data they are trained on reflects these patterns. Thus, AI governance that puts humans at the center of AI development, deployment, and use is important and must embed ethical and responsible use of AI, it must also strengthen its security to mitigate potential harm and ensure fairness while monitoring and eliminating bias.
A Roadmap for Inclusive AI Development
To ensure AI’s potential is underpinned by the principles of digital inclusion and inclusive digital development, we must address several key challenges:
Decolonize and Decentralize AI Infrastructure: prioritize investment into AI infrastructure in the Global Majority world and other underserved regions. This means building environmentally compatible local data centers, training local engineers and data scientists, and creating technology ecosystems that are capable of supporting AI development and deployment in a way that addresses local needs.
Invest in Connectivity Infrastructure for Meaningful Connectivity: focus on access to affordable, high-speed internet, affordable devices, and unlimited daily access to data.
Invest in Digital Literacy and Skills Development: Governments, the private sector, civil society, and educational institutions must prioritize relevant digital literacy programs, especially for underrepresented communities focusing on enabling them to not only consume digital technologies but also to innovate.
Ensure Ethical AI: ethical guidelines must be embedded into AI development from placing humans at the center and throughout the loop from start to use. This will require the utilization of diverse teams to help ensure that AI systems are equitable, transparent, and accountable and are serving the public good.
Promote Inclusive Policy Development: policymakers should craft regulations that promote digital inclusion and ethical AI. This includes ensuring universal internet access, safeguarding privacy and data protection, and establishing standards for the responsible use of AI in the public and private sectors.
Harnessing AI for the Common Good
AI is neither inherently good nor bad; its impact will be shaped by how we design, implement, and regulate it. If we’re serious about creating a future where everyone has access to the opportunities that AI can offer, we need to focus on building an inclusive, equitable, and ethical digital world. AI should not be a tool that deepens inequality but one that uplifts and empowers those whose lives could benefit from it the most.
Though the challenge is great, the potential is even greater. It’s up to all of us — governments, big tech and data companies, civil society, and us as individuals — to ensure that as AI continues to evolve, it does so in a way that benefits everyone, everywhere.
For more information, please contact: press@globaldigitalinclusion.org or visit Media Contacts page.
Onica N. Makwakwa is a digital inclusion advocate and policy expert, working to bridge the gaps in access to technology and ensure that emerging technologies benefit all people in the global majority and marginalized communities.