Emerging markets must prepare for the generative AI revolution. Here's why

The power of, and the range of opportunities presented by, generative artificial intelligence (AI) tools such as ChatGPT become evident to a user after just a few minutes of interacting with them.

For developing countries, tools such as these hold the promise of raising living standards and shortening their economic path toward achieving sustainable development goals through two main channels:

These opportunities, however, will not materialize automatically. Harnessing the power of generative AI requires active public-private cooperation. Without public sector involvement, countries will lack the necessary amount of investment in both human and physical capital.

At this time, for example, most of the population in many developing countries do not have the broad-based access to high-speed internet that advanced generative AI applications require.

Broadband subscriptions per 100 people in countries such as India, Indonesia, the Philippines, South Africa, and Peru are only a small fraction of that in developed countries, according to the World Bank. A similar conclusion can be reached when looking at data on the availability of 5G network architectures or data centres.

Yet in recent conversations with policy-makers from various emerging markets, I have perceived no real sense of urgency and priority on these topics.

Questions about what concrete initiatives they are planning to adopt to take advantage of the power of generative AI for the benefit of their country are typically met with answers that either are generic – with plans that are hard to distinguish from those applied to adopt other technological breakthroughs, for example – or suggest a need for a fuller understanding and appreciation of the present and future capabilities of the technology.

Similarly, without a dynamic private sector ecosystem, countries will lack the ability to bring the benefits of generative AI to market – i.e., the spectrum of end-users including individuals, businesses and government agencies and institutions – in a timely matter.

In this regard, there is a lot of work to be done. The technology sector in many emerging markets today scores poorly in terms of maturity and innovation capacity, according to Oxford Insights’ latest Government AI Readiness Index.

All these present ample opportunities for development. But first, improving AI preparedness needs to come to the top of policy priorities in emerging markets.

A lack of immediate public-private cooperation would not only represent a failure to take advantage of the promise of the technology, but also translate into increased exposure to multiple related risks, which include:

Many developed markets are already recognizing the potential and the risks of generative AI, with their governments actively exploring ways to make the technology work for both business and society. The stakes cannot be higher. The time for emerging markets to prepare for the AI revolution is now.