AI offer lifeline to developing economies in an era of weak growth - World Bank

World Bank stated in its World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence that AI could allow developing countries to do in a decade what might otherwise take a century, provided governments act swiftly to close gaps in power, connectivity, skills, and institutional quality. Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, said, "AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it."

The report finds that jobs in high-income countries are more than three times as likely to be at risk of automation by generative AI than those in low- and middle-income countries, where 4.5% of existing jobs are at risk, compared with 14.2% in high-income countries. At the same time, 16.2% of jobs in developing economies could see productivity meaningfully boosted by AI, close to the 18.7% expected in high-income countries. The report is the first comprehensive assessment of AI's implications for developing countries.