Closing the Digital Divide: Stony Brook Hosts Statewide Conference on Equity and Access
Stony Brook University’s Center of Excellence in Wireless and Information Technology (CEWIT) in partnership with the New York State Digital Equity Network (NYSDEN) hosted the second annual NYSDEN Conference, Advancing Access Through Collective Advocacy, dedicated to closing the digital divide through strategy, collaboration and innovation.
The August 5 event focused on digital inclusion and brought together more than 100 stakeholders from across New York State, including elected officials, nonprofit leaders, workforce and healthcare professionals, digital equity practitioners, funders and municipal agencies. It featured talks by subject matter experts as well as expert panels on funding, AI, accessibility, workforce integration, and coalition-building, and underscored the need for collective advocacy and policy support to bridge the digital divide.
“We have a lot going on in AI research at Stony Brook, but we’re actually pioneering the world in quantum internet, which is the next generation of internet,” said Stony Brook Chief Innovation Officer Michael Kinch. “Even though we are in difficult times, we’ve doubled down on our commitment to address these challenges.”
“Digital equity is not a technological challenge, it is a political one,” said keynote speaker Revati Prasad, executive director of the Benton Institute for Broadband & Society, a non-profit organization dedicated to ensuring that all people in the U.S. have access to competitive, high-performance broadband. “The communities most affected by the digital divide — Black, brown, indigenous, low-income, rural people with disabilities — are the same communities that have long been underrepresented in decision-making spaces. It’s not just that broadband hasn’t been built in these communities. It’s that the people who live there haven’t had a voice in how policy is made, or in how resources are allocated, or in what success looks like.”
Josh Breitbart, senior vice president of ConnectALL at Empire State Development, spoke of the importance of digital literacy and New York state’s commitment to it.
“We’ve already built thousands of miles of new fiberoptic infrastructure that reaches from the urban areas to the most rural areas, and we’re working to serve the remaining locations in the state that do not have a reliable connection,” said Breitbart. “There’s also an equally essential social component to the infrastructure so that everyone is engaged with and contributing to the internet, and benefiting from it for education, economic opportunity, health, access to government services, and civic engagement. That is digital equity.”
The ConnectALL initiative, mandated by the WIRED Act, will be the largest-ever investment in New York’s digital infrastructure. It oversees the statewide digital equity plan and administers more than $1 billion in public investments across the state, with a focus on underserved rural and urban areas.
“The work that you do to close the digital divide has never been more important as AI quantum technologies accelerate technological transformation,” Breitbart said. “ It is truly a mistake that digital equity is not a priority at the federal level, but digital equity is a priority for the state of New York.”
A morning panel discussed the integration of AI into nonprofit work, emphasizing the need for AI literacy and ethical use. Liam Albright, a PhD student and researcher at Cornell University, spoke of the importance of organizations accepting the reality of AI.
“It isn’t necessarily a question of whether organizations are ready and willing,” said Albright. “There’s such a massive push for AI tools that they have to be ready. Everything from Microsoft and Amazon and Google incorporates AI at almost every level of those products. So the time is now.”
“Asking if you’re ready to engage AI is almost like asking if you are ready to be a parent,” said CJ Banks, vice president of Career Advancement and Strategic Partnerships, Villa Maria College. “So the question is not if they’re ready, but are they willing? Because there’s got to be a lot of learning, and it’s going to be like raising a child. You have to be ready and you have to be prepared and improvise and adapt to the changes. Because if we’re not ready as organizations, then the communities that need us are not going to be ready either.”
Attendees were treated to a far-reaching look at a fast-moving topic that becomes more important every day.
“As someone new to the digital equity space, it was inspiring to learn about the leadership New York state has taken in digital equity efforts across the three areas of access, adoption, and literacy,” said Matthew Salzano, an assistant professor in the School of Communication and Journalism. “My hope is that Stony Brook continues to be a key part of this coalition, especially as AI will continue to change how we relate to technology — with inequitable impacts.”
Kinch stressed the point of equity in access to information, relating his experience growing up in an under-educated part of Ohio. “But I had access to television, which gave me access to Schoolhouse Rock,” he said. “The theme of Schoolhouse Rock was ‘knowledge is power,’ and I firmly believed in it. Decades later, I got out and became a scientist and I’m working on these important things here at Stony Brook today. Back then it was Schoolhouse Rock, but now it’s internet access and digital access across the state and across the world that helps deliver knowledge to kids. And knowledge truly is power.”
“AI is reshaping every corner of our daily lives, and as educators, we must meet this moment by opening doors through opportunities like hackathons, robotics camps, and hands-on learning experiences that inspire curiosity, creativity, and opportunity for students of all backgrounds,” said Rong Zhao, director of CEWIT. “The promise of AI will only be realized if we commit to equity. By working together — teachers, students, community leaders, researchers, and entrepreneurs — we can ensure that AI literacy and access are not privileges, but pathways open to every student, everywhere.”
— Robert Emproto