To Win the AI Race, America Must Close the Digital Divide

On its march towards an AI-driven future, our federal government has stopped prioritizing whether all Americans can get online. This retreat is not just harmful to people; it’s contrary to the administration’s goals to “usher in a new Golden Age of American Innovation.” After releasing an AI Action Plan in the summer of 2025 designed to “achieve [U.S.] global dominance” in AI, the White House followed up with a policy framework in March 2026 charging that “American workers must benefit from AI-driven growth, not just the outputs of AI development, through youth development and skills training, the creation of new jobs in an AI-powered economy, and expanded opportunities across sectors.” Yet, while the government is putting so much effort into accelerating the nation’s adoption of AI, it has halted or cut funding meant to close the digital divide—undermining its stated interest in winning the race for tech supremacy. The push to accelerate national AI development while kneecapping programs to bring people online limits the future prospects of the communities most in need, and self-sabotages our economic growth and competitiveness as a nation. However you define winning, it’s only by getting more people meaningfully connected that we ultimately win the technological race. If America is to succeed, Americans must be equipped to succeed.