An intro to the survey
As a company deeply embedded in the communities we serve, Verizon partnered with Morning Consult to understand how technology is redefining the fabric of American life in three areas of interest: workforce readiness, disaster preparedness and response, and cyber safety.
“The Community Pulse: Tech, AI and Us” listened to consumers, families, small business leaders, and public officials nationwide and found that while optimism around technological innovation is high, Americans expect technology to be developed and deployed with purpose.
The workplace
Small businesses and the AI opportunity
Today’s technological landscape represents a massive opportunity to invest in future readiness.
A strong majority of Americans recognize the critical need to prepare today’s youth for an AI-driven workforce and small business leaders can help drive this change.
AI readiness gap—training the workforce of the future
While the “AI-skilled” employee is the new gold standard, a significant amount of work remains to be done to ensure nobody gets left behind as we develop the workforce of the future.
The current skills gap is a call to action for leadership.
Employees aren't looking for a way out—they are looking for a way in, and they are placing their trust in their employers to lead the way.
Is the next generation ready for next gen tech?
As technology reshapes our landscape at breakneck speed, we have reached a crossroads: we’re innovating faster than we’re educating.
The home
Digital sanctuary: Protecting families online
In this new digital landscape, conversations on cyber safety are now being had around our dinner tables—shifting our sense of home and safety. In fact, 63% of Americans experienced a cyber threat in the past year.
For many, the notion of a digital sanctuary has evaporated, forcing a move toward self-censorship to keep our personal milestones from being weaponized.
Privacy is no longer a setting to manage, but the boundaries we are building to protect our loved ones.
The community
The evolution of emergency response & preparedness
When our communities face a crisis, the difference between life and death is measured in seconds. Public servants show a more comfortable view of this innovation than the communities they serve—seeing a path where we finally get ahead of the disaster.
To move the needle from hesitation to hope, experts are looking to apply emerging tech to areas that could make the most impact, like predictive and real-time response measures. But that vision is only as strong as the infrastructure supporting it.
To move from theory to life-saving reality, we must ensure the technology our first responders trust evolves to meet the unique needs of the public safety community.
Purposeful programs, empowered communities
As technology redefines the fabric of our lives, we are committed to ensuring our communities are prepared.
Through our dedicated programs, we empower individuals and communities with digital training while strengthening resilience with the innovation and infrastructure needed to navigate a changing world safely and successfully.