EcosystemSUMMIT & RESEARCH
Evidence library / Connected ≠ Ready: Getting to a Ground-Level View of AI Readiness for Women and Vulnerable Populations
AI for development · SELECTED MOMENT · 0:41

Affordability, charging and damaged hardware can prevent use even when a person owns a smartphone.

Likely speaker
Caryl FeldackerSenior Program Officer, Data and Technology Adoption, Gender Equality Division · Gates FoundationSpeaking in a personal capacityLinkedIn ↗

Free short preview · A smartphone can still leave you disconnected

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Caryl FeldackerSenior Program Officer, Data and Technology Adoption, Gender Equality Division · Gates FoundationSpeaking in a personal capacityLinkedIn ↗

Affordability, charging and damaged hardware can prevent use even when a person owns a smartphone.

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Attributed contributors: Caryl Feldacker. “Affordability, charging and damaged hardware can prevent use even when a person owns a smartphone..” Connected ≠ Ready: Getting to a Ground-Level View of AI Readiness for Women and Vulnerable Populations. ECOSYSTEM Summit, Barcelona, 16 September 2026. Session time 14:34–15:16. https://cs-ecosystem.commonshare.workers.dev/evidence/E-602126193efd

Interpretation and context.

Analyst synthesis. The recording establishes that a claim was made. It does not independently establish the claimed effect.

reported research

Affordability, charging and damaged hardware can prevent use even when a person owns a smartphone.

Contributors
Caryl FeldackerSenior Program Officer, Data and Technology Adoption, Gender Equality Division · Gates FoundationSpeaking in a personal capacityLinkedIn ↗

Proposed mechanism: Device condition and recurring resources constrain usable channels.

Limit: Examples are reported constraints, not quantified prevalence.

agencycapacityreliability

Where it connects.

Device ownership and expressed interest are incomplete measures of effective access.

Charging, installation costs, household relations, usable language and trusted intermediaries determine whether a service reaches people. Starting with current users can hide exclusion.

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