How state and local governments are celebrating Digital Inclusion Week

State and local governments across the U.S. recognized Digital Inclusion Week this past week, an annual event that champions awareness about digital equity, access and literacy. Such efforts are particularly crucial as governments consider how to prepare communities for public sector modernization, experts say. 

To celebrate Digital Inclusion Week, which runs Oct. 4 to Oct. 10 this year, state and local leaders have announced funding initiatives, technical assistance programs and other services dedicated to increasing residents’ access to and understanding of technology. The celebratory week aimed at closing the digital divide was created by the nonprofit National Digital Inclusion Alliance in 2017. 

Such efforts not only build residents' individual digital skills to use their personal streaming platforms or email accounts, but they also enable their to participate in a society that increasingly becomes digital and mobile, said Carolyn Bennett Glauda, programs and outreach manager at the Southeastern New York Library Resources Council. 

The difference between someone accessing public benefits, complying with court orders or paying utility bills or not could be dependent on their ability to navigate a government website or tools like chatbots and portals, she explained. At the same time, many government websites lack user-friendly features like keyboard accessibility, alt text for images and clear designs, further impeding progress toward digital inclusion. 

One way New York is addressing digital inclusion to help sharpen residents’ digital skills is through a recent $500,000 state grant awarded to the Westchester Library System, Bennett Glauda said. 

The grant money will help the library system expand the Digital Navigators of the Hudson Valley program, which offers residents no-cost technical assistance from library staff to learn how to use and access digital resources. Digital navigators, for instance, can guide residents through accessing telehealth services, applying for jobs, navigating government services and completing other tasks, Bennett Glauda, who leads the program, explained. 

In Connecticut, the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and Connecticut State Library have launched a $7 million program through which residents in 138 municipalities can loan laptops from local libraries. The devices can be borrowed for short- or long-term loans to individuals who meet certain requirements, like participating in a public assistance program such as Medicaid, state officials said in an announcement this week. 

At the local level, the Los Alamos County Council in New Mexico announced that construction to build a municipal broadband network is underway. The fiber optic network aims to create “digital equity so that every community member can participate in all parts of our society and not be left behind due to lack of access to the internet,” according to an Oct. 6 proclamation. 

Los Angeles County also announced the public release of its digital equity roadmap this week, which county officials started developing “in alignment” with last year’s Digital Inclusion Week, according to the roadmap. 

The document serves as “a three-year digital equity action plan to address the digital divide across Los Angeles County by empowering residents with internet connectivity, technology, digital skills and support that will enhance civic engagement and participation, strengthen economic mobility and opportunity, and improve residents' health and quality of life.”  

At the federal level, a federal judge in July ruled that the Digital Equity Act, which included a $2.75 billion digital equity grant program and was cancelled last May by President Donald Trump, could be reinstated under new stipulations.  

More broadly, unfamiliarity with digital solutions could impede state and local governments’ efforts to modernize their services, particularly regarding AI advancements, said Elizabeth Laird, director of the Equity in Civic Technology Project at the Center for Democracy and Technology. 

As an example, Laird pointed to the proliferation of AI tools in school settings. Education leaders and students are turning to AI to enhance student assessments, assist with schoolwork  and support instructional planning, but concerns about the technology’s impact on student outcomes remain prominent, she explained. 

School systems in Los Angeles and New York last month banned students’ use of AI amid mounting fears surrounding the technology, with both jurisdictions indicating they will evaluate AI’s potential impacts in the meantime. 

Such efforts are “a helpful glimpse into the future,” Laird said. 

To help mitigate public skepticism toward new and expanding digital services like AI, “I would strongly recommend to those who are in public agencies to look at how … they regularly communicate and inform the public about how they're using [AI], and, just as importantly, the steps they're taking to keep them safe and make sure that these tools work and do what they say they're going to,” she explained. 

Utah Gov. Spencer Cox, for example, signed an executive order earlier this week aimed at developing AI literacy in the state, starting with public employees, Laird said. The order directs state agencies to require AI training and “promote responsible AI use within government.” 

“Utahns have expressed legitimate concerns regarding the potential impacts of AI use in government,” the order reads, adding that “AI systems should protect human dignity, preserve human agency and ensure individuals remain in control of the tools that shape their work and lives.”