We are currently so focused on AI and its potential consequences for our lives and work that very little attention is paid to those who were already left behind by earlier waves of technological change. The conversation is dominated by what might happen next, while the realities of what has already happened remain largely unaddressed.
For years, we bought into the promise that technology would make our lives easier, more efficient, more connected. And in many ways, it has. However, for a significant number of people and communities, the opposite has occurred. Instead of ease and connection, there is confusion and isolation. Instead of empowerment, there is persistent and ongoing exclusion.
As someone who is digitally literate it is easy to overlook the exclusions inherent in systems I navigate every day. When your work and daily life are deeply embedded in the digital world, these systems feel intuitive, even invisible at times. But they are not neutral. They are designed, and in that design are centralised and biased assumptions about capability, access, and confidence that do not hold true for everyone.
Through my work and daily encounters in our communities, I regularly see the consequences of this disconnect. People who, for a range of reasons—ageing, economic deprivation, limited access to devices or connectivity, or disrupted learning pathways—have not been able to keep pace with rapid technological change. Supporting even a small fraction of these individuals reveals the depth of distress and isolation that digital exclusion creates.
This is where people-centred experience design is essential. It is easy to get caught up in the enthusiasm for new and engaging ways of interacting with the world through technology. But good design requires us to recognise that not everyone is like us, and that systems built without this awareness can unintentionally exclude those who do not fit the assumed user profile.
Technology, when poorly considered, does more than create inconvenience. It shapes whether people can remain connected to the systems that structure everyday life. It can be a systematic barrier to connection, participation, and belonging. These challenges affect confidence, dignity, and a person’s capacity to engage with society on equal terms.
This has been unfolding for years, as more people are steadily excluded from the systems required to live. As we look ahead to the next wave of transformation driven by AI, the stakes become even more pronounced. Experience design and innovation are now actively shaping the conditions of society, influencing who can participate and who is gradually pushed to the margins. How this trajectory continues will determine the extent to which participation in everyday systems remains conditional.
