The New Digital Divide: From Access to Agency

What does digital equity, agency, and possibility mean in the AI era? Mimi and returning guest Mike Carroll, an expert in industrial innovation, applied AI, and system strategy, take on an important issue that isn’t getting nearly enough attention: the new digital divide. Today, the digital divide is no longer just about access to devices and broadband. It’s about who gets to augment their thinking, extend their capabilities, and collaborate alongside intelligent systems. In a world increasingly run by autonomous systems, this raises a critical concern: who is empowered, thrives, and gets to benefit from AI—and who gets left behind?

00:00:00 – Introduction

00:01:59 – From Access to Augmentation: Redefining the Digital Divide

00:05:22 – Autonomy at Risk: When Logic Is Automated and Humans Fall Behind

00:09:27 – The Risk Layer: Logic, Access, and the Need for a New Bill of Rights in the AI Era

00:13:00 – Access Is the New Power: The Risk When Business Leaders Fail to Address the Digital Divide

00:16:07 – Geopolitical Disruption and the Power of Decentralized Reasoning

00:18:58 – Digital Rights and the Rise of Logic-Based Class Systems

00:24:08 – Organizations Must Redesign for Trust and Access

00:27:04 – The Augmentation Gap: Intelligence, Equity, and the Future of Human Work

00:32:59 – Thought Exercise: The Power of Personalized Intelligence at Scale

00:37:12 – The Big “A”: Access, Agency, and the Right to Shape Your Future

00:42:23 – Governance as a Learning Loop: Rethinking Human Participation in Intelligent Systems

00:45:41 – Better Questions, Bold Agendas: Asking the Right Things at the Right Time