The digital divide has never been static. It changes every time technology changes what people need in order to learn, work, transact, compete and be seen. For years, the main question was whether people could get online. That still matters. But emerging technology is adding another layer to the problem.
It’s no longer enough to ask whether someone has an internet connection. We also need to ask whether they can access Artificial Intelligence (AI) tools, cloud platforms, secure digital identity systems, reliable infrastructure, and the skills needed to use them well. That’s where the next version of the digital divide is forming.
AI adoption is already moving quickly. Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute reported that global AI usage increased from 16.3 per cent to 17.8 per cent of the world’s working-age population in the first quarter of 2026. But the benefits aren’t spreading evenly.
UNDP has warned that AI could deepen inequality between countries, especially where readiness, skills and governance are already uneven. Innovation doesn’t automatically create inclusion. Sometimes it rewards the people, businesses and regions that were already closest to opportunity.
The Digital Divide Is Becoming A Capability Divide
The old digital divide was mostly about connection. Could people get online? Did the network reach them? Was there a device in their hands?
Those questions are still relevant but they don’t tell us enough anymore.
The next divide is about capability. That means the ability to use digital systems in a way that creates real value. A person may be connected but unable to use AI confidently. A small business may have internet access but no affordable cloud tools, data skills or cybersecurity support.
A region may have mobile coverage but no local data centres, compute capacity or reliable energy to support advanced digital services. The World Bank’s Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025 frames AI readiness around four foundations: connectivity, compute, context and competency.
In plain terms, countries and organisations need infrastructure, processing power, useful data, and the skills to work with these systems. Without those foundations, AI adoption becomes uneven before it even begins.
That’s why digital inclusion can’t stop at access. Emerging technologies raise the threshold for participation. They demand better infrastructure, stronger skills, safer systems and more institutional support.
Why Emerging Technologies Create New Layers Of Exclusion
Modern digital participation depends on several layers working at once. Connectivity is one layer. Devices are another. Then come cloud access, secure identity, cybersecurity, data quality, AI literacy, and trust.
When those layers are uneven, emerging technologies don’t close gaps. They compound them.
AI access requires more than a login
Access to AI isn’t the same as benefiting from AI. Anyone can open a tool and type a prompt. That doesn’t mean they know how to judge the answer, protect sensitive data, ask better questions, test outputs, or apply AI to a real workflow. That’s where AI literacy matters.
UNDP’s The Next Great Divergence notes that AI has reached 1.2 billion users in only three years, with nearly 70 per cent in developing countries. But it also found that AI usage remains close to 5 per cent in many low-income countries, while some high-income economies have usage rates closer to two in three people.
That gap matters because AI is becoming part of work, education, search, public services, cybersecurity and customer support. People who can use it well may move faster, learn faster and make better decisions. People without the skills, confidence or access may fall further behind.
Cloud and compute are becoming strategic resources
AI doesn’t run on good intentions. It runs on infrastructure.
That includes data centres, cloud computing, AI chips, electricity, fibre networks, data centre cooling systems and technical talent. These resources are expensive, unevenly distributed and often controlled by a small number of providers and regions.
UNCTAD reported in January 2026 that data centres captured more than one fifth of global greenfield investment in 2025. That shows how important compute infrastructure has become to the global technology economy.
It also shows why regions without strong cloud and data centre investment may struggle to compete in the next phase of digital transformation. For enterprises, this matters because advanced technology adoption increasingly depends on infrastructure they don’t always own.
Better access to compute means faster experimentation, stronger automation and more mature AI deployment. Weak access means slower progress and higher dependency.
Digital identity is becoming a participation requirement
Digital identity is becoming one of the quiet gatekeepers of online life.
People increasingly need trusted identity verification to access banking, healthcare, education, employment platforms, public services and secure online transactions. When identity systems work well, they make digital participation safer and easier. When they don’t, they create another barrier.
This is especially important as more services move to digital-first models. A person can have a phone, a signal and data, but still be blocked if they can’t prove who they are in a recognised digital system.
For organisations, identity is no longer just an IT control. It’s part of customer access, employee onboarding, fraud prevention and trust. If identity systems are too complex, exclusionary or fragile, they can shut people out of services that technically exist.
The Enterprise Impact Of The Emerging Technology Divide
The emerging technology divide isn’t only a social issue. It’s becoming an enterprise issue too.
Businesses depend on customers, employees, partners and suppliers being able to use digital systems. If those groups don’t have the right skills, access or trust, digital transformation slows down.
Customers may abandon digital journeys because the process is too complex. Employees may avoid AI tools because they don’t understand when to trust them. Suppliers may struggle to connect with cloud-based platforms. Smaller partners may fall behind because they don’t have the same resources as larger firms.
The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) found that AI adoption is forming new divides across places, sectors and firms, with larger businesses and knowledge-intensive services moving faster than others.
That creates a practical risk. If only the strongest organisations can take full advantage of AI and cloud platforms, emerging technology may widen competitive gaps instead of levelling them.
Workforce readiness is part of this. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned that new skills and AI are reshaping labour markets, with skill requirements changing faster in advanced economies than in emerging markets. For businesses, the message is simple: technology investment won’t create value if people can’t use it well.
Technology Alone Will Not Close The Gap
There’s a tempting belief that better technology will eventually solve access problems on its own. It won’t.
New tools often benefit the people who already have the strongest foundations. The best-connected teams adopt AI first. The most mature businesses build better cloud strategies. The most digitally confident users learn faster. The safest organisations create more trust.
Without intentional design, technology inequality becomes self-reinforcing.
That doesn’t mean emerging technology is the problem. AI, cloud platforms, connected services and automation can all expand access to opportunity. But only if organisations design for real users, real constraints and real-world unevenness.
That means thinking about affordability, accessibility, language, skills, governance, cybersecurity and trust from the start. It also means measuring whether people can actually complete tasks, not just whether a service has been deployed.
A tool that only works for the most confident users isn’t inclusive, in fact — it’s actively excluding a large number of employees, customers and the general public.
What Enterprise Leaders Should Be Asking
Emerging technology strategies need to be judged by more than deployment. Leaders also need to understand who can use these systems, who benefits from them, and who may be left behind.
Are our technologies raising or lowering participation barriers?
Every new system adds a learning curve. Sometimes that curve is reasonable. Sometimes it’s a wall.
Leaders should look at complexity, accessibility and user experience before assuming adoption will happen naturally. If a tool needs perfect data, high-speed connectivity, new devices, advanced skills and constant support, it may be harder to use than the roadmap suggests.
Who benefits most from our digital investments?
Digital investments don’t affect everyone equally.
A new AI tool may help experienced employees move faster while leaving junior staff unsure where to begin. A cloud platform may improve internal operations while making life harder for smaller suppliers. A self-service portal may reduce support costs but frustrate customers who need guidance.
The useful question is not just “does this work?” It’s “who does this work for?”
Do users have the skills and support needed to succeed?
Training can’t be an afterthought. People need time, context and support to build confidence with new tools.
That includes employees learning AI workflows, customers using digital services, and partners working inside shared platforms. Adoption depends on more than access. It depends on whether people understand what the tool is for and how to recover when something goes wrong.
Are trust and security enabling participation?
Trust is part of adoption.
People won’t use systems they believe are unsafe, unclear or impossible to challenge. That’s especially true when services involve identity, payments, personal data or AI-supported decisions.
Good security should reduce the burden on users, not make participation harder. Clear consent, responsible AI governance, transparent decision-making and strong identity controls all help people engage with confidence.
Final Thoughts: The Next Digital Divide Will Be Defined By Capability
The digital divide hasn’t disappeared. It’s becoming more complex.
Internet access is still essential, but it’s no longer enough to measure inclusion. Emerging technologies are starting to define who can learn faster, work more effectively, build stronger businesses and participate in higher-value digital systems.
That creates a choice.
AI, cloud platforms, digital identity and connected services can expand opportunity. Or they can concentrate it among the people and organisations that already have the strongest foundations.
The difference will come down to capability. Not just who can connect, but who can use technology safely, confidently and meaningfully.
As emerging technologies reshape work, infrastructure and digital participation, enterprise leaders need sharper insight into the decisions that influence access, adoption, trust and long-term value. EM360Tech brings together expert voices and technology leaders to help organisations understand those decisions before they become tomorrow’s divide.
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