The terminology is up for debate. Whether we’re living through a Technological Revolution, the Fourth Industrial Revolution, the Intelligence Age, or another description of the 2020s AI-powered epoch, there is no doubt that the pace of change in technology is rapid and far-reaching.   

The UK government says it’s ready not only to embrace this, but also to invest in it. In recent months, we have seen initiatives including £36m for AI Research Resource ‘supercomputer’; billions pledged for ‘AI growth zones’ (so far across North and South Wales, in Lanarkshire, the North-east of England, and Oxfordshire); and England’s first ‘tech town’ in Barnsley, South Yorkshire.  

Community participation matters in the age of AI

The impacts of these announcements are yet to be seen, but the stated ambition is to use AI to support public services, business, schools, colleges, the NHS, and other institutions, while also creating jobs and opportunities in communities across the country. Meanwhile, the launch of AI training for all, as part of the government’s commitment to upskilling 10m UK workers, has been dubbed the most ambitious training scheme since Michael Young founded the Open University (OU) in 1971. Today’s initiative gives UK citizens free or subsidised access to online courses, to help them use technology at work. 

We know a thing or two about that legacy here at The Young Foundation. Our founder – the same Michael Young that launched the OU – was a visionary who built lasting, game-changing institutions: the University of the Third Age (now u3a); the School for Social Entrepreneurs; our own Institute of (now for) Community Studies, and more. Young not only supported community participation and experience-informed change for a better society, he also worked tirelessly to embrace new solutions to issues faced by people and neighbourhood across the UK. The Young Foundation’s roots trace back more than 70 years, and these aims still hold true. 

The risk of digital inequality in the age of AI 

Yet while the government’s recent AI initiatives could deliver huge advancement for individuals and places, comparison with innovations led by our founder sit a little uneasily. While a national AI-for-all scheme, imparting the basics of how to use ChatGPT and interact with a Chatbot, is likely to be helpful for many people, the skills humans need to thrive through the digital age go far deeper, and the threats of the growth of the AI industry – to jobs, to the climate, and across other spheres and sectors – are considerable. Not everyone benefits equally. Digital poverty, lack of access to training, and uneven confidence in using technology risk widening existing inequalities. The shifts needed in our places and spaces are therefore not just about access to tech, upskilling, or even investment (although these things are important); they are also cultural, environmental, psychological, logistical and material. The rise of AI raises myriad and complex issues of equity, fairness, opportunity, awareness, capacity and beyond. Issues that, so often, stand between people and change. 

The challenges of AI adoption

We see this in households and communities, as well as in organisations and across systems. Focusing on the shift required within the charity sector alone, there’s an influx of new AI-supported tools, as well as AI features appearing within existing technologies. The challenge is identifying which tools are right for each organisation’s specific needs, and finding the time to strategically introduce those in ways that are supportive, applied consistently, and managed effectively, with appropriate guardrails to ensure nothing is lost in quality or accuracy; which means human checks and verification. Without dedicated resource to do that – and given the speed of innovation – many in the charity and non-profit sectors simply can’t see the wood for the trees. And as the hike through looks so overwhelming, it’s often postponed. Meanwhile the technology keeps moving on, and even the most ambitious, future-focused organisations can quickly fall behind. 

Then there’s the truth that there will always be different starting points and impacts. For an organisation, some members of staff might be terrified of the idea of AI while others want to use it for everything – and many may have concerns about the environmental impact. Training can mitigate against some of these issues, and guidance on uses of AI can help too. At The Young Foundation, we’re developing policies and processes that include being intentional about when and how we engage with AI tools; using other (less environmentally impactful) tools, such as search engines, when appropriate; writing clear and concise prompts; avoiding overly complex or repetitive requests; avoiding image generation (as text prompts use far less energy); and other practical guiding principles. But we know this is an ongoing issue, and gauging how to evolve in that landscape is a significant challenge.

AI that supports staff

Implementation and acceptance across staff and with trustees requires trust, and that can be tough if perceived risk looms larger than perceived reward. While investment – including those billions from the government – is welcome, implementing a valuable shift to AI is rarely as simple as direct cost benefit. It’s about how much time and effort can be saved, releasing people from ‘the boring stuff’ to focus on creativity, innovation, storytelling, leadership, and all the other things that come with people and human relationships. The right tools can save hours rifling through stacks of papers, writing up meeting minutes, making notes. The aim is tapping AI so humans can self-serve, focus on the work they enjoy, and make more useful decisions, based on having the information they need at hand in a controlled way – and in ways that do as little harm and have as little climate impact as possible.  

The Young Foundation, as some other charities and non-profits, faces an additional challenge of ensuring machine learning and AI are compatible in a community-focused, human-centred, people-powered organisation. Yet we can – and must – balance integrity, authenticity and faithfulness to our mission with the use of technology. That requires reframing from a concept of ‘machines vs people’ to one of machines supporting work that will always be deeply human and rooted in experiences. 

Technology can – often brilliantly – support admin tasks and help synthesise data. But there are also risks and negative impacts. At The Young Foundation, we know AI cannot conduct participatory research, build relationships, innovate with groups of people, empathise with unique lived experiences, or be applied to many other aspects of our activities. Our work is about participation and the value of lived experience, and these are areas where human connection remains essential, as technology evolves.   

Community wellbeing Social innovation Systems change Posted on: 2 April 2026 Authors: Sean Croghan, Jessica Moore,