{"id":8967,"date":"2025-12-24T16:52:51","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T16:52:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/tech-institute\/?page_id=8967"},"modified":"2026-01-12T19:51:29","modified_gmt":"2026-01-12T19:51:29","slug":"beyond-internet-access-why-digital-literacy-is-the-missing-piece-in-closing-the-digital-divide","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.law.georgetown.edu\/tech-institute\/research-insights\/insights\/beyond-internet-access-why-digital-literacy-is-the-missing-piece-in-closing-the-digital-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"Beyond Internet Access: Why Digital Literacy Is the Missing Piece in Closing the Digital Divide"},"content":{"rendered":"

Scuba diving doesn’t just require access to the right equipment. Anyone who wants to explore a coral reef needs training: knowledge of how the gear works, how to breathe underwater, how to surface safely. We would never drive untrained people out to open water, hand them tanks and fins, and expect them to dive without proper preparation. Yet when it comes to the internet and closing the digital divide, we’ve adopted a national strategy built on a similar assumption: that access alone is enough.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

For years, the national conversation has focused on one foundational goal: increasing access. The US has poured billions of dollars into programs like the Broadband Equity Access Deployment (BEAD) <\/span>Program<\/span><\/a>, a $42.45 billion federal grant initiative funding state projects to expand broadband access in unserved and underserved communities through fiber, wireless, and satellite technologies. However, the effort has been defined by changing policy priorities\u2014from prescriptive mandates <\/span>criticized<\/span><\/a> by figures like FCC Commissioner Brendan Carr to disruptive 2025 <\/span>reforms<\/span><\/a> that invalidated state plans and created a new wave of delays. As a result, many communities are still unconnected or under-connected. But the deeper story isn’t just about extending broadband lines; without widespread digital literacy, even universal connectivity can’t close the digital divide or unlock the economic opportunities that high-speed broadband access promises, particularly in a job market that\u2019s now being reshaped by AI. More than <\/span>half<\/span><\/a> of hiring managers say they would not hire someone without AI proficiency, and demand for these skills has increased \u201cmore than sixfold.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

With the rise of AI, the digital skills gap has widened into a chasm\u2014one that acts as an engine for amplifying old <\/span>biases<\/span><\/a> into harsher forms of structural inequity. This isn’t an entirely new problem; it’s the <\/span>acceleration<\/span><\/a> of existing discrimination, now automated at a scale previously unimaginable. This is especially dangerous as AI is integrated into society\u2019s most essential services. In <\/span>hiring<\/span><\/a>, for example, the rapid proliferation of AI-powered resume screeners now used by 83% of employers means more candidates are being filtered out by algorithms trained to prioritize keywords over accurate experience. And while a dedicated applicant could manually tailor their resumes to incorporate the keywords preferred by AI screeners, they face a major disadvantage in time and effort spent compared to those using AI tools to handle the laborious optimization process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This pattern of inequity amplification repeats itself in many spaces, including banking, where the shift to a digital-first model creates dual barriers to access. Banking has become both more physically inaccessible as banks <\/span>remove<\/span><\/a> tellers, and more <\/span>discriminatory<\/span><\/a> as AI-driven systems, trained on historically biased data, are used to deny credit and loan opportunities to already marginalized communities. As Senior Fellow Stephanie Weiner <\/span>argues<\/span><\/a> in her recent analysis, \u201cBridging the Digital Divide as We Build the Digital Future,\u201d we cannot build frameworks for AI governance while leaving millions without the ability to participate in that future.<\/span><\/p>\n

Addressing this growing gap requires moving beyond a technology-first mindset. True digital equity requires a human-centered approach that meets people where they are. The solution isn\u2019t just more technology; it’s ensuring everyone can acquire the skills to use that technology to its fullest potential. It\u2019s about building a person-first support structure for our digital world. What does building this structure look like? It starts with key strategies such as:<\/span><\/p>\n