Enhancing AI literacy for inclusive digital economies and societies: Policies and challenges in addressing the AI divide

The rapid deployment of advanced artificial intelligence, alongside a growing AI divide, risks exacerbating global and domestic inequalities. This Special Issue on Promoting AI Literacy for the Economy and Society situates these developments within the evolving landscape of AI development and adoption, characterized by a concentration of frontier model development in the United States and China. The release of DeepSeek-R1 in early 2025 constitutes a critical inflection point, accelerating global diffusion while challenging established market dominance. Evidence from the United States and South Korea indicates that generative AI is diffusing more rapidly than earlier general-purpose technologies, yet adoption remains uneven, skewed toward younger, male, and more highly educated populations. These disparities highlight persistent inequalities in access and capability. At the same time, the effects of AI on the labor market are heterogeneous: while it can enhance productivity, particularly among less-skilled workers, it also poses risks to youth employment in sectors where it substitutes for human labor rather than complements it. The five papers in this Special Issue examine AI literacy as a central mechanism shaping outcomes across education systems, labor markets, and digital governance. Collectively, they underscore that advancing AI literacy, together with robust regulatory frameworks and inclusive education systems, is essential to fostering equitable, secure, and inclusive AI-driven digital economies.