What Does the Digital Inclusion Community Have to Say About AI?

On a chilly early-February week in Chicago, Illinois, digital inclusion advocates, practitioners, and researchers gathered for the annual Net Inclusion conference, hosted by the National Digital Inclusion Alliance (NDIA). At Net Inclusion, members of the digital inclusion community share resources, brainstorm new initiatives, and teach each other about best practices to close the digital divide. A dominant theme at Net Inclusion 2026 was artificial intelligence (AI). The conference featured four workshops and three panel sessions about AI. Previous years had featured some AI content, but this year was notable for an uptick in specificity—practitioners want to know how their peers are actually engaging with AI in teaching and learning—and for a more holistic focus on the broader impacts of AI on digital equity. Our team attended a handful of the workshops and panels to learn more about community priorities.