Nonprofit groups partner on effort to leverage AI to boost rural workforce

A coalition of nonprofit funders and capacity-building groups has launched a new initiative to grow the workforce in rural America by leveraging AI. Spearheaded by nonprofit technology group TechSoup and funded mainly through a grant from Google, the Rural AI Catalyst Fund was developed in response to a listening tour where Google collected insights from rural leaders across the U.S. about the need to bridge the innovation gap between urban tech hubs and rural communities. In response, the groups said the Rural AI Catalyst fund was designed to address the specific economic and cultural contexts of each region, rather than applying a one-size-fits-all approach to the solution. According to TechSoup, the fund will focus on “place-based” strategies across multiple regions of the U.S., looking at rural communities in states including Texas, Nebraska, and Georgia. By making advanced data and technology resources accessible, the initiative aims to help rural communities capture the benefits of AI, lower the barriers for risk and innovation, and create high value jobs, TechSoup said. For more information, visit https://www.techsoup.org.