Twenty years ago, my doctoral advisor Dr. Carolyn Cartier highlighted the importance of studying the nuanced layers of the global digital divide, especially the disparities between the information have and have nots.  This spectrum of access and opportunity was amplified two decades later at the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris when UN Secretary-General António Guterres echoed the warning that AI power rests “in the hands of a few” and threatens to deepen rather than bridge global inequities.

From Information to Al: The Widening Gap

The parallels are striking. Just as the digital revolution promised to democratize information but instead created new hierarchies of access, the AI revolution risks following the same path. Despite every hype curve claiming technological advancement, the fundamental gaps persist. The majority of the world’s population remains excluded from the benefits of the AI revolution, creating what I call the “AI have-less” – those with nominal access to AI technologies but without the means to fully leverage their potential.

History Repeats: Reiterating A Human-Centered Approach

This year’s International Day of Education theme, “Preserving human agency in a world of automation,” couldn’t be more timely. As AI becomes deeply embedded in education systems worldwide, we face a critical juncture. The promise of AI in education is immense – personalized learning at scale, automated administrative tasks, expanded access to quality resources. Yet, as UNESCO emphasizes, these advancements must be balanced against preserving human agency and dignity.

1. Accessibility First: Creating tools that work on basic mobile devices, not just high-end technology
2. Human-AI Partnership: Using AI to augment, not replace, human educators and mentors
3. Resource-Conscious Design: Developing lightweight, energy-efficient solutions that can function in resource-constrained environments
4. Community Co-Design: Ensuring solutions are developed with, not just for, underserved communities

The billions being invested in AI represent both opportunity and responsibility. As we stand at this crossroads, we must ask ourselves: Will AI become another layer of global inequality, or can we harness it as a force for educational equity?

The answer lies in our ability to learn from history. Nearly 30 years ago, Manuel Castell’s The Network Society showed us how unequal access to information technologies creates generational disadvantages. I have seen first hand in projects in over 40 countries what this inequality looks like in terms of lack of access to essential skills, services, and livelihoods. Today, we have the chance to write a different story with AI. At Cell-Ed, we’re committed to ensuring that AI in education serves humanity, not the other way around. Only then can we prevent history from repeating itself and ensure that AI truly becomes a bridge, not a barrier, to educational equity.

To learn more about how Cell-Ed is closing barriers to educational equity, check out our blog post: Uncommon Partnerships to Empower Adult Learners

Jessica Rothenberg-Aalami is the CEO and Founder of Cell-Ed, a mobile-first workforce development platform that brings essential skills to frontline workers and job seekers.