Good Morning and Thank you, Chairs Bronson, Amato, and Otis, for the opportunity to testify today.
My name is Annmarie Lanesey. I am the Founder and CEO of Can Code Communities, a statewide nonprofit workforce development organization founded in 2016 with a mission to build a more technologically fluent workforce.
Before I begin, I want to clarify how I am using the word “technology” throughout my testimony. When I refer to technology, I mean both the present and the future technology systems for the future of work —systems that are digitally enabled, AI-enabled, and soon quantum-enabled. Digital, AI and quantum technology conversations are not separate conversations. Very soon, there will be little distinction between digital, AI, and quantum systems; they will operate as our economy’s inter-networked economic infrastructure. The challenge is that far too many New Yorkers, our state’s most precious asset – our people – still lack the foundational technological and economic mobility jobs skills required to participate in any part of that future. It is important to remember: digital computers are what AI systems run on today. Digital computing is not separate from AI literacy—it is foundational to it.
Can Code Communities was founded in Albany to address the growing gap between the tech skills employers need and the skills many New Yorkers lack. Very quickly, we learned that the workforce challenges we were addressing in the Capital Region were the same challenges facing communities across the entire state.
As a result, our work expanded statewide, and by the end of 2024, we surpassed 5,000 individuals statewide since our inception in 2016.
Our programs are built around what we call digital fluency—a continuum of technology skill development that begins with very basic computer skills and job-ready digital skills and extends through advanced IT, software engineering, cybersecurity, and AI upskilling and reskilling altogether. We are also developing a community-based quantum literacy training program for low-income New Yorkers – a first in the state.
According to a 2023 National Skills Coalition study, 92 percent of all jobs already require digital skills. That report is almost 3 years old, and given the pace of technological change, that figure is likely even higher today. In other words, digital and AI skills are no longer “nice to have”—they are the baseline requirement for workforce participation and economic security in New York State.
Approximately two and a half years ago, we began embedding AI literacy into our beginner computer skills programs, because we understood early that AI would not be optional—it would become foundational across the workforce, as has now proven to be true. About a year and a half ago, we launched more advanced AI training programs to help New Yorkers understand how AI models work, how generative AI tools are built and deployed, and how agentic AI can be used to develop and automate tasks done in the recent past by human workers.
Our organization is one of the first community-based AI literacy training organizations in New York State. When I say “first,” I mean that we had already designed, launched, and trained participants in AI programs before even OpenAI itself developed its own AI Academy, a free, web-based learning platform. We are also likely the only organization in New York State—and possibly the country—that truly embraces the technology principle that “the medium is the message.” Our training is, by design, delivered directly in people’s homes and is fully online, cohort-based, and instructor-led, because that is how today’s—and tomorrow’s—workforce functions.
To make that possible, we mail laptops and mobile internet hotspots directly to participants’ homes across the entire state, ensuring low-income New Yorkers have the tools required to participate – no matter what their zip code may be. And this training is provided at no cost to the learner thanks to government grants and private philanthropic dollars. Can Code Communities has received funding and support from the New York State Department of Labor, Empire State Development, and the Department of State Office for New Americans. We also operate what is the first program in New York State—and likely one of the first in the nation—specifically dedicated to immigrants and refugees, taught in both English and Spanish, with laptops and hotspots mailed directly to participants’ homes.
Over the past year as part of our AI Literate New York initiative, we have already served more than 100 low income New Yorkers statewide in advanced AI upskilling programs, all guided by a deeply engaged employer advisory network. In recent employer roundtables, we have heard consistent and sobering feedback:
- AI is dramatically increasing productivity and speed to deployment on engineering and technical teams.
- Midsize teams are actively discussing workforce reductions as a result of agentic AI automations.
- Larger organizations are replacing human labor altogether with digital workers—systems that perform tasks once handled by human workers.
Digital workers have serious implications for New York State. If fewer people are being paid to do certain kinds of work vulnerable to AI Automation, there are fewer wages being taxed. This directly impacts state and local revenue. This is not just a workforce issue—it is a tax base issue and an economic stability issue. We need to understand how widespread this shift has become, and we need to respond accordingly.
This is not a science-fiction future—it is happening today. Yet you would not know it by looking at the New York State budget, the past few years, which
has not reflected any significant investment at scale to ensure our workforce has the technology skills needed to lead New York’s workforce and businesses into its rightful place as a national and global model of economic prosperity. By the time our state budget passes in April, our NYS Digital Equity Plan will be two years old. Based on the current level of investment, and the time it takes for NYS dollars to flow out to our communities, our most vulnerable New Yorkers would not have seen a single dollar of the budget investment tied to the state digital equity plan. Recently, New York State announced approximately $7 million through ConnectALL to address the digital divide. That is a start—but it is not enough. We were expecting approximately $36 million in federal digital equity funding, which has now been halted. That makes state investment even more critical. I live in Rensselaer County, which borders Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Massachusetts’ through MBI, similar to our ConnectALL initiative, has already invested more than $15 million in Western Massachusetts alone. In 2020 Western Massachusetts had a population of less than a million people. It is now being cited nationally as a model for a digital-enabled community development. We have a lot to learn from our neighbors to the East.
New York cannot continue to overpromise and underdeliver on its most important asset—its people.
At Can Code Communities, our data shows that participants experience an average wage increase of approximately $25,000 after completing our programs.
Nicky: a military veteran, unemployed for eight years, stopped attending our program when their laptop broke. We provided a laptop. That individual completed training, secured a first job earning approximately $50,000, and a few years later told me they were earning over $100,000 annually. That is what technology access plus training makes possible. If we do not reinvest in our most underestimated community members—low-income, underemployed, and unemployed individuals across the state—they will be left behind. Access to technology skills is already a prerequisite for labor market participation. Digital, AI, and quantum-enabled work are converging into a single future. New York has a choice: lead, or leave New Yorkers even further behind.
Thank you.
Annmarie Lanesey
New York State Budget Hearing on Human Services
Thank you for the opportunity to submit written testimony on behalf of New Yorkers who continue to be excluded from our increasingly digital economy—and, as a result, from essential human services. Digital equity is not a technology issue alone; it is a human services access issue. Today, access to a device, reliable internet, and basic digital skills determines whether a person can obtain employment, apply for public benefits, schedule healthcare, secure housing, enroll in education or workforce training, and communicate with service providers.
In practice, digital skills and devices are the gateway to:
- Applying for and maintaining employment
- Accessing unemployment insurance, SNAP, HEAP, Medicaid, and other benefits
- Scheduling medical appointments and using telehealth
- Applying for housing and rental assistance
- Participating in workforce development and training programs
- Accessing education, childcare information, and community services
When individuals lack a computer, internet access, or the skills to navigate online systems, they are effectively locked out of the human services ecosystem. As more services move online—often eliminating paper-based options—digital exclusion becomes service exclusion. For low-income households, older adults, immigrants and refugees, people with disabilities, and rural residents, this creates compounding barriers that deepen poverty and isolation.
For these reasons, digital equity must be treated as foundational human services infrastructure, just as critical as housing stability, transportation,
or access to healthcare. The New York State Digital Equity Plan is now three years old. It was developed to ensure that all New Yorkers—particularly low-income households, older adults, veterans, immigrants, refugees, rural residents, and individuals with lower educational attainment—have access to the devices, connectivity, and digital skills required to participate fully in modern life and access essential services. Yet, three years after the plan’s publication, not a single dollar has reached communities to support direct, community-based digital equity
programs. During this same period, New York State has invested significant resources in hiring consultants to develop plans, strategies, and frameworks. Meanwhile, the organizations that actually deliver digital access, training, and workforce skills on the ground have received little to no funding to implement those plans. At the same time, millions—and in some cases billions—of dollars continue to flow annually through Empire State Development to support
economic development initiatives. Despite this scale of investment, not a single Empire State Development dollar has been directed toward programs that directly support our most underestimated and economically disadvantaged community members with devices, connectivity, or digital skills.
This is not a capacity problem. It is not a lack-of-evidence problem. We believe the program has not lived up to the expectation and was not prioritized properly. Organizations working on the front lines of digital inclusion across New York State are aligned on what is needed to move from planning to action. The New York State Digital Equity Network (NYSDEN)—a coalition of organizations from every corner of the state—has formally called for $25 million annually to implement New York’s Digital Equity Plan at scale. This funding level reflects the true cost of delivering devices, connectivity, digital skills training, language access, and workforce-aligned programs to the communities the plan was designed to serve. It
is a practical, field-informed request grounded in lived experience and proven models—not theoretical projections. Community-based organizations across New York State—including CanCode Communities—have demonstrated, at scale, how to:
- Deliver laptops directly into homes
- Provide affordable and reliable internet access
- Teach foundational digital skills tied to employment and service access
- Produce measurable economic mobility and stability outcomes.
These programs are data-driven, cost-effective, and immediately deployable. They directly support the goals of human services agencies by reducing administrative burden, increasing successful benefits enrollment, improving employment outcomes, and strengtheningcommunity resilience.Instead of investing in these proven models, the State has continued to delay implementation—while the digital divide has hardened into a structural barrier for millions of New Yorkers who rely most on public services.
The consequences of this inaction are predictable and preventable:
- Individuals cannot apply for jobs or workforce programs
- Families struggle to access benefits and housing assistance
- Workers cannot reskill for available employment
- Older adults experience increased isolation and health risks
- Immigrants and refugees are cut off from essential resources
- Human services providers face increased strain and inefficiency
All of this occurs while the State continues to invest heavily in top-down economic development initiatives that presume a digitally capable population—without making the foundational investments required to create one. If New York is serious about equity, economic mobility, and effective human services delivery, the Digital Equity Plan cannot remain a document on a shelf. It must be funded, implemented, and held accountable.
I respectfully urge the Legislature to:
- Require transparent reporting on the status and deployment of Digital Equity Plan funding
- Shift resources from planning and consulting to implementation
- Invest directly in community-based organizations with proven outcomes
- Fund the Digital Equity Plan at the $25 million annual level requested by NYSDEN
- Ensure that Empire State Development investments support not only infrastructure and innovation, but people
Three years is long enough. New Yorkers cannot afford another budget cycle in which plans are written, revised, and delayed while communities fall further behind. The digital economy—and the digital delivery of human services—is already here. Inaction today compounds inequality tomorrow. The question before the State is not whether it can afford to invest in digital equity. It is whether it can afford not to.
Thank you for your consideration and leadership.