Digital Inclusion Officer Tackles Tech Inequity in Detroit

A Q&A with Detroit director of digital inclusion Joshua Edmonds.

When Joshua Edmonds was named Detroit’s (MI) director of digital inclusion, he became the first local goverment employee in the country with the title. Other cities have similar roles, but Edmonds is the first with the weight of director. When asked what the role of director of digital inclusion entail, Edmonds said, "It’s expanding technology to the community. In Detroit, almost a third of households don’t have Internet... This digital divide is a today problem with massive implications for tomorrow. When Amazon is on its HQ2 search, and it wants cities with a strong tech workforce, it’s hard to say you have that when a third of residents lack Internet. My role is to say, how do we start conversations and position the city to be proactive about the digital divide, rather than reactive?"