Artificial intelligence could allow developing countries to achieve a century's worth of development in only a decade if they act quickly on power, connectivity and skills gaps, the World Bank said in a report on Tuesday.
The lender called on developing countries to embrace the AI tools to deliver better governance outcomes, warning that they risked being left behind if they failed to do so.
"AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it," Indermit Gill, chief economist of the World Bank Group, said as the organization launched its annual World Development Report (WDR).
"They do not need large models or big data centers to reap its benefits," he added, advocating for the adaptation of lower-cost AI tools to local conditions to deliver results in the health, education, justice and agricultural sectors.
Widespread job losses due to AI are also less of a threat to emerging economies, the report found, adding that developing economies have more to gain and less to fear than richer nations.
