#10 AI - the next digital divide?

Reading about all the amazing new developments in AI that fill my feeds at present, it's easy to get caught up in all the excitement and hype about the amazing advances being made. And there is no doubt that the ability of these new tools to collate and present information is light years ahead of anything we've seen previously available to the general populace.

We've just started watching a new series on TV, Mrs Davis. It's a Tarantino-esque, very tongue in cheek story of a seemingly immortal nun who is fighting a AI that has become part of the daily fabric of everybody's life. Apart from a small band of supporters, she's the only person who seems to be against the AI. The AI seems to have made life much better for almost everybody on the planet, and certainly the general population have no inkling or wish to be "free " of it. And it's likely that we are heading down a similar road with the rise of the chatbots we've seen over the last few months. Whether we end up wearing a little earpiece or something like a contact lens in our eye, it probably isn't too long before we will be almost permanently connected and to a large extent, dependent on this amazing personal assistant that can tell us anything we want and make so many things happen almost instantly.

But what about those who don't have access to AI? What about those who don't have access to electricity, not to to mention high-speed Internet, and always on ubiquitous computing power? Or moving closer to home, what about those who can't afford a Internet plan, or who can only afford, perhaps one device – probably a smart phone?

It's very clear that access to the most powerful and novel advances in this space are going to be available to those with money and technology far earlier than those without. This is nothing new, it's been the same with the emergence of any new technology for centuries, so why should we get wound up about it?

The rise of the prompt engineer type job role indicates that there is a level of capability required to extract the best out of these new technologies. It's probably not too much of a stretch to imagine that educational institutions will soon be adding instructional course material to the curricula. Or seeking to.

If you're reading this newsletter, you're probably involved in education of some kind, so what are you doing as an educator to prepare yourself for this task? Well you're reading this newsletter which hopefully is giving you some insight and information into what's happening in the space, but my spending half an hour each day putting down a few thoughts isn't really deep enough insight and learning too take to a class of students, or to create a thorough and well thought through introduction to the subject.

I've already been asked to do a couple of presentations to various faculty on how we should start thinking about bringing AI into the classroom, and structuring those workshops is on my immediate to do list. I'll share the outlines for the workshops once they've been created, and I'll also bring back feedback from them to the newsletter as this may well be of interest to many of you.

But coming back to my main point for today, what are we going to do about those students who can't get access to this technology? How are we going to keep them - literally - in the loop and ensure that they have the chance to develop what appears to be emerging as an essential skill set to navigate the world of the immediate future?

I don't have any immediate answers. Do you? It would be great to see some ideas and comments on this and if anybody has any examples of how this is being done or should be done it would be great to hear them.

After I hit publish it occurred to me that ChatGPT might be able to point us at some more resources... so I asked it...

Certainly! Here are five references to discussions on the emerging digital divide and AI technologies from respected organizations published in the past year:

| 1 | "Addressing the Digital Divide: AI and Equity in Education" - This article explores the role of AI in exacerbating or mitigating educational inequalities, focusing on the digital divide and potential solutions to bridge the gap. | [Link](https://www.brookings.edu/research/addressing-the-digital-divide-ai-and-equity-in-education/) |

| 2 | "AI and the Future of Education: A Report on Augmented Intelligence and Education Inequality" - The report delves into the implications of AI in education and its impact on inequality, discussing how to ensure equitable access to AI technologies and minimize disparities. | [Link](https://www.reimagine-education.com/ai-future-education-report-augmented-intelligence-education-inequality/) |

| 3 | "The Digital Divide and Educational Equity: A Look at Students with Limited Home Internet Access" - This research study investigates the digital divide and its consequences for students with limited internet access at home, exploring the challenges they face and potential strategies to address the issue. | [Link](https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/ED610731.pdf) |

| 4 | "Bridging the Digital Divide: How AI Can Drive Inclusion" - This article discusses the role of AI in bridging the digital divide and promoting inclusion in education, highlighting initiatives and strategies that leverage AI technologies to address educational disparities. | [Link](https://news.microsoft.com/features/bridging-the-digital-divide-how-ai-can-drive-inclusion/) |

| 5 | "The Role of AI in Bridging the Digital Divide in Education" - This publication explores the potential of AI in bridging the digital divide, offering insights on AI-driven solutions, policies, and practices that can help close the gap and enhance educational opportunities for all. | [Link](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-030-72063-4_32) |

Joe Houghton is an Assistant Professor at UCD Smurfit Graduate School of Business where he directs the MSc programmes in Project Management. After a career in IT in multinationals, Joe switched into a portfolio career of University teaching, management coaching and training.

He has authored 5 books to date including "Innovative teaching with AI: Creative approaches to enhancing learning in education", and "Project Management made easy...: the ECCSR approach".

Contact Joe on email at [email protected] for any requests for training, workshops or keynote speaking.