The AI revolution threatens a ‘token divide’

The internet revolution was accompanied by a digital divide. Now, the artificial intelligence revolution threatens a token divide. Access to the internet opened new possibilities for everyone. The eighth grader doing her homework and the local business serving its customers both benefited. Broadband connections gave them information. Now, AI offers them intelligence. Tokens are the unit through which intelligence is organized, measured, and sold. Access to tokens governs access to intelligence. The digital divide was about access to and affordability of internet connections. The token divide retains those challenges and adds another: the constant expansion in what AI can do. Closing the token divide requires access and affordability, all while keeping pace with an accelerating frontier of capability.