Wealthy nations fear AI, but Singapore embraces it: Here’s why
Singapore’s population trusts its government’s capacity to manage disruption – through retraining and regulation
The World Bank's recent World Development Report 2026 highlights a stark contrast in attitudes towards artificial intelligence (AI) between wealthy and developing nations. Americans, Italians, and Australians express concern about AI, while Nigerians, Indians, and Kenyans are more excited about its potential. Despite being the inventors and primary beneficiaries of AI, developed countries are the most anxious about its disruptive effects, while developing nations are comparatively unconcerned.
The report suggests that the developing economies stand to gain more from AI than lose, and fear AI less than rich countries. This is due to the different nature of jobs and the exposure to automation. In low- and middle-income countries, nearly 90% of workers are employed in firms with fewer than 10 people, doing manual work such as agriculture, retail, and informal services. Generative AI is more likely to automate white-collar jobs, which make up a smaller portion of the workforce in poorer economies.
However, the productivity gains from AI are expected to be more than double in advanced economies because they are adopting the technology faster and more broadly. This creates a trust gap between developed and developing economies. A KPMG-University of Melbourne global trust study found that only 39% of people in advanced economies trust AI systems, while 57% in emerging economies do. Similar patterns emerge in surveys from Ipsos and Pew.
Three key mechanisms contribute to this trust gap: the nature of jobs and the potential for AI to displace or complement them, the familiarity and previous experience with IT in developed countries, and the previous positive impact of digital technology on emerging economies. AI-enabled financial inclusion in countries like India and China has given people a taste of the benefits of digital disruption, making them more receptive to AI.
Written by urgent.news from The Business Times - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
