Key facts
- The World Bank urges developing nations to embrace artificial intelligence.
- AI could offer developing nations a century of progress in a decade.
- Nations risk being left behind if they do not address power, connectivity, and skills gaps.
- Failure to adopt AI could widen existing inequalities.
- AI adoption is seen as crucial for future development progress.
The World Bank is strongly encouraging developing countries to integrate artificial intelligence into their development strategies, highlighting the transformative potential of AI. According to the institution, AI has the capacity to deliver a full century's worth of development progress in a mere ten years. This rapid advancement, however, is contingent on developing nations proactively addressing significant barriers. The World Bank specifically identifies power infrastructure, internet connectivity, and the digital skills of their populations as crucial areas requiring immediate attention. The institution warns that countries failing to tackle these foundational issues risk falling significantly behind in the global technological and economic landscape. This could exacerbate existing inequalities and impede overall national progress, creating a wider divide between nations that embrace AI and those that do not.