
26/07/2025
Let’s talk about digital inequality—and the children caught in its blind spot.
The tech elite send their kids to chalk-and-talk schools. But in low-income communities, screens are replacing teachers under the banner of “innovation.”
At Cactus Foundation, we’re asking a harder question:
Are we confusing access to tech with access to learning?
Children don’t need bots. They need safe relationships, responsive classrooms, and strong, well-trained teachers who can hold their emotions—not just track their scores.
Because when we swap human guidance for apps, we widen the emotional and educational gap. We’ve seen children top vocabulary leaderboards—yet freeze in real-world conversations. We’ve seen classrooms filled with devices but devoid of warmth.
This isn't just an education crisis. It's a relational rupture.
And here’s the thing: AI won’t heal trauma. Algorithms can’t nurture confidence.
Teachers can.
We must invest in teachers the way we invest in infrastructure—because no child should grow up believing that a screen understands them better than a person.
Let’s not automate childhood. Let’s humanise it.