Imagine a world without barriers ...

Digital solutions company boss Julie Hawker asks us to imagine a world where cost, location, health, wealth and skills are no longer a brick wall ...

Imagine a time in the future without digital exclusion.  Where the foundations of digital innovation we are currently experiencing (AI and automation, virtual worlds and more) are developed and used in the direct interests of everyone in our society.

Where people will be able to access services, education, communities and support through a range of new technologies without the barrier of cost, lack of skills, or social situation. A world where everyone has the opportunity to use new technology to improve their lives.

And all of the benefits of the digital innovations coming our way could be focussed on generating solutions for people, families and communities (not just business).

Imagine ... everyone being given access to the right device for their needs, the best level of digital connectivity to support their use, and the best skills development programmes to provide them with enhanced opportunities, connection.  

Imagine ... if cost, location, health, wealth and skills were no longer the brick wall for many people in society when it comes to joining the digital revolution.In order to get to this place and time, thought leaders, politicians and industry experts need to dedicate themselves to investing and developing solutions which are truly inclusive and which realise the promises of the technologies for the benefit of everyone in society.

Too often the world witnesses the launch of the latest, greatest digital tech and the huge growth in its use, purely to the benefit of big business.  And without this focus on people, the benefits they can reap and the life-changing potential which digital holds for most. 

Baroness Martha Lane-Fox recently echoed these sentiments in her speech in the House of Lords earlier this year: "We won't be able to level up, we certainly won't be able to build back better, I don't believe we'll build a country that works for everyone unless we put a deep understanding of connectivity and internet access and skills and ability to afford it at the heart of how we do that."

With only a glimpse of the power of AI now available to us all, we begin to realise how major the changes ahead will be. And at the same time we recognise the risks of deeper digital exclusion and more people left behind.  So now is the time for everyone who can make a difference to the pathway to do so.

To be fair, I could have written this piece using the same words except for the types of technology - 25 years ago. The challenge remains the same, even though the nature of devices, online platforms, apps and wearables changes a lot. The pace-of-change is faster, the nature of the challenge seems bigger... but the key emphasis on digital-for-all is as clear now as it was then.

* A print version of this article appears in Exeter Tomorrow magazine (out next week).