World Bank urges developing countries to embrace AI ‘lifeline’ or be left behind

The World Bank has urged developing countries to embrace artificial intelligence (AI) technology tools to improve governance outcomes and avoid being left behind in the global economy. In its annual World Development Report, the bank warned that developing economies risk missing out on the benefits of AI, which require large data centers, significant computing power, and large amounts of electricity and water, contributing to climate change.

The bank emphasizes the need for lower-cost AI tools tailored to local conditions, especially in the health, education, justice, and agricultural sectors, to deliver tangible benefits to people. The report highlights AI's potential to extend costly medical, legal, educational, and agricultural services to underserved populations, potentially achieving in a decade what may take a century otherwise.

This opportunity for growth is critical for developing countries, which have faced multiple shocks in the 2020s, leading the World Bank to label it a "lost decade" for economic growth. The report calls for investment in electricity generation and distribution, expanding access to computing power, and improving local data availability.

Brief written by urgent.news from South China Morning Post's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.