By Tenita Abraham
AI & Technology
Artificial intelligence may become one of the most powerful economic tools of our lifetime. But powerful technology does not automatically create progress for everyone.
It can open doors. It can also widen gaps that already exist.
That is why I want you to consider two numbers.
The median Black household in America holds approximately $44,900 in wealth. The median White household holds approximately $285,000.
Now consider another number: $43 billion.
According to research from the McKinsey Institute for Black Economic Mobility, generative AI could widen the racial wealth gap by as much as $43 billion annually by 2045 if the economic benefits continue to be distributed along the same unequal patterns we have seen in the past.
I do not share those numbers to create fear. I share them because we still have time to influence what happens next.
AI is already changing how people work, how businesses operate, how financial decisions are made, and how information is created. The question is no longer whether AI is coming.
The real question is whether our communities will be prepared to participate in the opportunities it creates.
This Is Bigger Than Jobs Disappearing
Much of the conversation about AI focuses on whether machines will replace workers. That is an important concern, but it is not the whole story.
The larger issue is who has access to the training, tools, jobs, business opportunities, and investment that AI will create.
McKinsey found that Black workers are overrepresented in four of the five occupational categories with the greatest automation risk: office support, production work, food service, and mechanical installation and repair.
Approximately 24 percent of Black workers are employed in occupations with more than 75 percent automation potential, compared with 20 percent of White workers.
Those four percentage points may not sound like much. But across the country, they represent hundreds of thousands of workers, families, and household incomes.
AI is also changing some of the jobs people have traditionally used to move into the middle class. Administrative coordination, customer support, entry-level technology positions, and other jobs that do not always require a four-year degree have provided important pathways to higher wages.
Now many of the tasks performed in those positions can be completed—or at least assisted—by AI.
That does not mean every one of those jobs will disappear. It does mean the expectations attached to those jobs are changing.
Workers who know how to use AI may become more productive and more valuable. Workers who are never given access to the technology or training may find themselves competing at a disadvantage.
The New Divide Is Already Forming
A 2026 Federal Reserve report found that one in four American workers had used generative AI as part of their job during the previous month. Among those users, 81 percent said it saved them time.
But access was far from equal.
Forty-three percent of workers with graduate degrees reported using generative AI at work, compared with only 10 percent of workers with a high school education or less.
That is the gap we need to pay attention to.
The next digital divide may not simply be between people who have internet access and those who do not. It may be between people who know how to work with AI and those who were never given the opportunity to learn.
We have seen this before.
When computers entered the workplace, some workers received equipment, training, and support. Others were expected to figure it out on their own. When businesses moved online, companies with capital and digital expertise expanded while many smaller businesses struggled to keep up.
We cannot afford to repeat that pattern with AI.
AI Can Also Open Doors
Here is the part of the story that does not receive enough attention: the same technology that creates risk can also create opportunity.
In July, Federal Reserve Vice Chair for Supervision Michelle Bowman said AI could help financial institutions reach more low- and moderate-income consumers and expand access to credit.
AI systems can analyze a broader range of financial information, help people understand complicated financial concepts, and make certain services more accessible. They can help small-business owners organize their finances, identify patterns in cash flow, prepare marketing content, improve customer service, and reduce time spent on repetitive administrative work.
AI can also help job seekers improve résumés, practice interviews, research career options, and identify skills they may need for their next position.
These tools were once available mainly to large companies and people who could afford expensive professional assistance. Many are now available at little or no cost.
But access alone is not enough.
AI systems can also repeat bias, provide inaccurate information, misuse personal data, and make decisions that appear objective even when the information behind them is not. Using AI responsibly means questioning its output, protecting sensitive information, verifying important answers, and keeping human judgment involved—especially in areas such as healthcare, credit, employment, and investing.
The technology is not automatically fair simply because it is new.
Who builds it, what information trains it, and how institutions use it will help determine whom it serves.
What We Can Do Now
Preparing for the AI economy does not mean everyone needs to become a computer programmer. It means learning how to use the technology within the work and responsibilities we already have.
If you are an employee, identify one or two AI tools relevant to your position. Ask whether your employer offers approved tools or training. Learn how AI can help you research, organize information, draft routine communications, analyze data, or improve a process.
If you are a business owner, do not chase every new AI application that enters the market. Start with one business problem. Look for repetitive work that consumes time but does not directly generate revenue. Then determine whether AI can help you complete that work more efficiently.
If you are a parent or educator, give young people opportunities to use AI as more than a shortcut for completing assignments. Teach them how to ask better questions, evaluate sources, challenge inaccurate responses, solve problems, and create something of their own.
If you lead a church, nonprofit, community organization, or workforce program, make AI education part of your programming. People need hands-on instruction, not simply another presentation telling them that the world is changing.
And as consumers and voters, we must continue asking institutions how their AI systems are being tested for bias, privacy, accuracy, and unequal outcomes.
Future-Proof the Skills, Not Just the Job
One of the most important ideas in McKinsey’s research is that the future may not belong to “future-proof jobs.” It may belong to people who develop future-proof skills.
Jobs will continue to change. Some tasks will be automated. New positions will emerge, and older positions will be redesigned.
But skills such as critical thinking, sound judgment, communication, creativity, cultural understanding, relationship building, and the ability to solve complex problems will continue to matter.
These are not merely “soft skills.” In an AI economy, they are economic survival skills.
Many Black professionals and business owners have spent years learning how to adapt, navigate uncertainty, build relationships, and solve problems with limited resources. Those abilities have value. Our responsibility now is to combine them with the power of new technology.
We Still Have a Choice
AI will not close the racial wealth gap by itself. It will not correct unequal access to education, capital, healthcare, housing, or opportunity simply because the technology is advanced.
But a lack of access, preparation, and participation could allow AI to make those inequalities worse.
We are not powerless in this moment.
We can learn the tools. We can teach our families. We can prepare our workers. We can help our businesses become more competitive. We can demand accountability from the companies and institutions using AI to make decisions that affect our lives.
Most importantly, we can make sure our communities are not simply consumers of the AI economy. We must also become its creators, professionals, business owners, investors, educators, and decision-makers.
The AI revolution is here.
Whether it lifts us or leaves us behind will depend, in large part, on what we choose to do next.
Tenita Abraham is a Certified AI Consultant, financial strategist, and international speaker dedicated to advancing economic empowerment through technology and finance. She is founder of Building Legacies and Sepia Success, a multimedia platform highlighting entrepreneurship, innovation, and generational wealth stories. Learn more at www.legacyconsultingpros.com and www.sepiasuccess.com.