From Digital Access to AI Readiness: Rethinking How We Prepare People for Work

As AI reshapes the labor market, it’s time to move beyond basic digital literacy and build pathways that prepare people to thrive, not just participate, in the future of work.

I’ve spent years helping communities close the digital divide. Automation is spreading fast—from offices to warehouses—outpacing most training programs. Victories in digital access and literacy matter, but the AI wave reshaping the workforce threatens to erase them if we don’t adapt.

Recent headlines tell the story. Amazon confirmed 14,000 layoffs linked to automation and AI-driven efficiency initiatives. Adobe warned that creative professionals risk being left behind without new AI skills. As HR leader Trent Cotton put it, “the first rung on the career ladder is disappearing as AI absorbs routine work.” His insight echoes what many of us see on the ground, that automation is hollowing out the roles that once helped people gain career experience and economic mobility.

According to the World Economic Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025, 92 million roles are expected to be displaced globally by technology this decade, even as 170 million new jobs emerge requiring stronger digital and AI-related skills.

These shifts should concern anyone working to expand digital opportunity. We risk solving yesterday’s problem while tomorrow’s reality arrives at full speed.

Why Isn’t Basic Digital Literacy Enough in 2025?

Across the country, I still meet people who’ve mastered email, basic software, and everyday online tasks—yet can’t secure stable employment. The baseline that once defined digital literacy no longer guarantees opportunity. Employers expect workers to adapt quickly, earn online certifications, and work comfortably with AI tools woven into daily operations.

As Trent Cotton notes, organizations must “stop backfilling yesterday’s tasks and build roles around what AI can’t do—problem-solving, communication, and tech fluency.” That reality is already playing out in hiring data and job postings across industries.

Researchers describe a widening “fragmented knowledge” gap: millions are fluent on smartphones but lack access to a computer for learning or remote work. That hidden divide limits mobility even as headline metrics show progress in connectivity.

The result is a paradox. Communities celebrate digital literacy milestones while their participants remain locked out of higher-wage, AI-enabled roles. Bridging that gap requires redefining what “workforce readiness” really means.

What Digital Capabilities Do Employers Really Want in an AI Economy?

The labor market is evolving faster than most workforce systems can respond. AI is automating routine tasks and reshaping how jobs are structured and valued. According to the PwC Global AI Jobs Barometer 2025, roles requiring AI knowledge are expanding 66 percent faster than the overall labor market. The workers who remain resilient are those who can learn with technology, not just use it.

As Trent Cotton warns, the tasks most vulnerable to automation are precisely those that once gave workers their start. His advice to employers is simple but urgent: “Stop backfilling yesterday’s tasks and build roles around what AI can’t do: problem-solving, communication, and tech fluency.”

Employers now view adaptability, self-directed learning, and AI collaboration as the new baseline. Equally important are human capabilities like critical thinking and creativity that machines cannot replicate.

For the workforce development and digital literacy sector, this reveals what I call a false finish line—training efforts that end at basic digital skills while the market keeps moving. Without upskilling and AI readiness, people remain exposed to the next round of disruption even after they “complete” traditional digital literacy programs.

What Does the Digital Skills Continuum Look Like?

Digitunity’s analysis of American Community Survey data found that 1 in 7 U.S. households still lack a large-screen computer, meaning that more than 33 million people cannot fully participate in online learning, remote work, or AI-related training. Access is not the finish line; it’s the foundation on which all else is built.

The path forward is a continuum of capability:

• Access – A reliable computer in the home

• Literacy – Core digital skills for daily life and work

• Upskilling – Online learning, AI certifications, and job-specific tools

• Future-Ready Skills – Adaptability, creativity, and collaboration with AI.

Digital capacity builds over time and requires sustained support from access programs through lifelong learning initiatives.

How Should Communities Prepare for AI-Driven Jobs?

Access and literacy remain essential, but the bar has moved. AI is redefining what “job-ready” means, and basic skills alone no longer ensure stability or mobility. The goal now is to help people advance past the basics into verifiable upskilling and future-ready competence.

That next leap—from literacy to employability—will hinge on how we measure and validate capability.

One emerging opportunity is to link digital access initiatives with practical, role-based credentialing that moves learners from basic skills to measurable proficiency. For workforce and community partners, the question isn’t whether AI will change job requirements—it’s how quickly training and credentialing systems can catch up. Expect to see tighter connections between digital-equity programs, online upskilling platforms, and verified AI-readiness credentials that employers recognize and trust.

This isn’t a linear ladder anymore. It’s a cycle of learning, practice, and validation. The communities most vulnerable to AI displacement should become the ones best equipped to succeed in an AI-enhanced economy.

What Happens When Workforce Development Stops at Basic Skills?

Stopping at digital literacy still creates what I call a false finish line. People may gain access, but they remain at risk in a labor market where AI is eliminating entry-level jobs faster than employers can reinvent them.

A recent Washington Post editorial warned that “AI is coming for entry-level roles and everyone needs to get ready.” That warning reflects what many of us see firsthand: the very positions designed to help workers start and learn are vanishing.

That next leap—from literacy to employability—will hinge on how we measure and validate capability.

When communities stop at literacy, they lock residents into a shrinking slice of the economy. True equity now means creating clear pathways from access, to literacy, to upskilling, to verified AI-ready capability, a progression that keeps pace with how technology and opportunity evolve.

How Can We Better Prepare Workers for an AI-Driven Future?

The next phase of digital-access work must evolve beyond access toward AI readiness. Access and literacy are the foundation, but success will be measured by how well people can adapt, earn credentials, and thrive in a technology-driven economy.

The Boston Consulting Group’s AI at Work 2025 report underscores that companies investing in AI-skills development now will see measurable productivity and retention gains within three years. That same insight applies at the community level: regions that build local AI-readiness pipelines will gain the greatest economic resilience.

As the Aspen Institute recently framed it, the “AI Upskilling Conundrum” is no longer theoretical, it’s a systems challenge that will determine who participates in the next decade of opportunity.

For organizations, funders, and policymakers, that means directing resources toward credentialed learning pathways and partnerships that connect training to real advancement. For individuals, it means embracing lifelong learning as both a survival skill and a growth strategy.

The future of work is already here...and arriving faster than anyone expected.

The challenge is clear: how do we ensure the people most vulnerable to being left behind are instead the ones best equipped to lead the way forward?

Author’s note: This reflection draws on my years leading national digital-access initiatives and my ongoing work exploring how communities, educators, and employers can close the gap between digital literacy and AI readiness.