America's AI ambitions have a broadband problem

"The 14th best broadband and grand ambitions to build an AI-powered economy of the future. I'm not sure how that happens without a resilient, robust network that can move data at the speeds and latency that it needs to." That observation from Revati Prasad, executive director at the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, captures a contradiction at the heart of American technology policy. The U.S. wants to lead the world in AI. It wants AI-powered industries, AI-powered healthcare, AI-powered government services and AI-driven economic growth. Yet the networks that must support that future remain unfinished, unevenly distributed, and increasingly entangled in political uncertainty. After years of planning around the Broadband Equity, Access and Deployment program and broader efforts to close the digital divide, many states, providers and advocacy groups find themselves waiting for clarity as priorities shift in Washington.