A World Bank report says developing economies stand to benefit more from AI boosting their workers' output than they will lose in jobs being replaced by AI (Joseph Cotterill/Financial Times)

A World Bank report suggests that developing economies stand to benefit more from artificial intelligence (AI) boosting worker output than they will lose in jobs being replaced by AI. According to the report, workers in poorer economies are more likely to benefit from the technology than be replaced by it. The World Bank's chief economist, Indermit Gill, said that AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it, as they do not need large models or big data centres to reap its benefits.

The report advocates for the adaptation of lower-cost AI tools to local conditions to deliver results in sectors such as health, education, justice, and agriculture. Advanced AI models, largely developed in the US and China, offer the ability to quickly analyse data and automate many tasks. However, these models require huge data centres and large amounts of complex computing power. The World Bank warns that developing countries risk being left behind if they fail to embrace AI technology.

The report also notes that developing economies face fewer job threats from AI compared to wealthier countries, and that AI could significantly boost growth performance before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people. According to Gaurav Nayyar, co-author of the report, developing countries can use low-cost tools to improve services, and governments must address power, connectivity, and skills to seize this opportunity.

Brief written by urgent.news from Techmeme, South China Morning Post, Punch Nigeria, Economic Times Tech, The National UAE — 5 reports on this story. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.