The Fourth Industrial Revolution has described the growth of the digital economy, which has disrupted legacy industries, afforded new consumer conveniences and empowered civil society to stand up to the status quo. Yet, more than half of the world's population does not have internet access, and among those are millions of Americans who sit on the wrong side of the digital divide.

Please join Dr. Nicol Turner Lee, Fellow in the Center for Technology Innovation, at the Brookings Institution who will discuss the state of high-speed broadband access in the U.S. and the impact of becoming "digitally invisible" in an increasingly connected society. Dr. Turner Lee will discuss her current digital divide tour, which has taken her into rural and urban communities with limited digital access across the nation. She will also share policy and programmatic ideas to address the persistent digital divide, especially interventions that support universal broadband access.

Overall, Dr. Turner Lee, who has a forthcoming book on the topic, makes the case for remedying digital disparities to improve U.S. global competitiveness and social mobility opportunities for the digitally-disconnected.

All UMD Faculty, Staff, and Students are invited. No RSVP required.