Emerging Technologies

How can all nations realize the full potential of AI?

There is a global AI divide that could widen social and economic disparities

There is a global AI divide that could widen social and economic disparities Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto

Samira Gazzane
Policy Lead, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, World Economic Forum
Cathy Li
Head, AI, Data and Metaverse; Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum
This article is part of: World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
  • The global artificial intelligence (AI) landscape is fragmented, with a few nations leading, some striving to catch up and many excluded, amplifying economic and social disparities.
  • Countries need adaptable AI strategies aligned with local priorities, focusing on infrastructure, talent development and fostering public-private collaboration.
  • Multistakeholder partnerships can address shared challenges, such as sustainable AI infrastructure and equitable AI access, to unlock global benefits.

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AI has long been hailed as the transformative technology destined to drive rapid advancements across all sectors of national economies and societies. However, realizing this promise is not straightforward.

It necessitates significant resources, political will and multistakeholder collaboration to enable responsible and equitable development and widespread adoption of AI.

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The global AI divide

Nations globally are embracing AI, even as the long-term capabilities of the technology remain uncertain. Developing AI-resilient ecosystems and preparing for AI disruption necessitate a comprehensive yet flexible strategy.

The global landscape of AI can be divided into three distinct groups: a few nations leading the way with high levels of AI maturity and innovation, countries actively working to become regional AI leaders, and a large portion of the world that remains excluded from the AI revolution.

On a global scale, significant challenges persist. The adoption of AI tools and services by industries, small businesses and individuals represents a considerable hurdle to enhancing productivity and fostering economic growth.

The increasing energy consumption of data centres and digital hardware raises concerns about the environmental impact of AI worldwide. Nations are also experiencing a shortage of AI talent and expertise, impeding their capacity to innovate and implement AI solutions efficiently.

In the Global South, limited access to energy-intensive AI infrastructure, advanced computing capabilities, high-quality data and AI skills hinder nations from reaping the economic and societal benefits that AI can offer. The growing global AI gap is projected to perpetuate economic disparities and social inequalities and affect international competitiveness.

What strategies should nations adopt to fully harness the benefits of AI for all?

Defining a national AI ambition

The pursuit of AI maturity is not merely a technological endeavour; it is becoming a strategic imperative for driving innovation and growth across all economic sectors, promoting societal advancement and increasing global competitiveness.

Progressing in this journey needs all interconnected actors and the creation of policy and investment enablers to support AI development, deployment, adoption and regulation.

National strategies are critical tools in this context as they signal a long-term commitment to AI adoption and provide a framework for developing cross-sectoral policies and initiatives to harness the opportunities of AI and anticipate disruption.

National strategies must align with local economic and social priorities. Governments should adopt a bottom-up approach and proactively involve end users to identify the most critical challenges AI can solve.

Depending on current AI capabilities, this could entail prioritizing investments in securing access to AI innovation and infrastructure or developing policies to promote AI adoption in strategic sectors such as health, education, finance, agriculture and energy.

Building a resilient AI ecosystem

Thriving AI ecosystems necessitate substantial resources, including physical digital and AI infrastructure, human and financial capital, and access to high-quality and diverse data. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to prioritizing these building blocks. In regions with limited resources, an opportunity exists to forge a distinctive path towards AI prosperity.

They can do this by concentrating investment and capabilities on impactful AI use cases. At the same time, targeted policy initiatives could drive economic growth and address development challenges effectively. Participation of the private sector in this context is crucial to facilitate access to investment and foster innovative solutions.

Access to sustainable AI infrastructure is essential to spur local innovation. However, investment in this space is not affordable or feasible for many countries due to challenges in accessing water and energy sources required to sustain the increasing power consumption of data centres.

These nations can consider developing dedicated digital and AI infrastructure strategies to attract foreign direct investment and explore innovative solutions to expand access to affordable renewable energy, high-speed internet connectivity and digital public infrastructure.

All nations are looking to increase their global competitiveness through AI adoption and innovation. But the road to success is paved with complexity, and requires agile decision-making and holistic strategies.

—Cathy Li, Head of AI, Data and Metaverse, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

Cathy Li, Head of AI, Data and Metaverse, Member of the Executive Committee, World Economic Forum

Access to human capital is crucial. Governments should collaborate with universities and the private sector to establish education and skilling programmes at every AI maturity stage to build and maintain a diverse talent pool for the AI ecosystem and foster innovation.

Continuous professional development can help workers adapt to AI disruptions in the labour market and build trust in the technology. Deploying and scaling local innovative AI technologies requires significant financial public and private investment in startups and established companies.

Venture capital firms and other private investors play an important role in funding the scaling of startup operations and achieving market readiness. National strategies should, therefore, incorporate clear incentives for investment.

Addressing societal or economic challenges through AI necessitates the creation of applications and services tailored to local needs. Centralized data repositories and open data initiatives can accelerate the development of AI solutions customized for these purposes.

Collaboration between governmental bodies and private sector entities is key to maintaining data accessibility while adhering to stringent privacy and security standards.

Leveraging regional and global collaboration

The AI value chain is inherently global and the challenges faced in achieving AI maturity are frequently shared across geographical regions.

Global and multistakeholder collaboration continues to be crucial in fostering innovation, promoting responsible AI development and deployment, and managing the disruptive effects of AI globally.

Regional collaboration between governments and private entities on shared challenges provides an opportunity to test pilot solutions that can be scaled globally. For example, collaborations can lead to new solutions to meeting existing and future AI power challenges or promote resilient AI infrastructure value chains.

All nations are looking to increase their global competitiveness through AI adoption and innovation. But the road to success is paved with complexity and requires agile decision-making and holistic strategies

In 2024, the AI Governance Alliance, part of the World Economic Forum’s Centre for the Fourth Industrial Revolution, introduced the AI Competitiveness through Regional Collaboration initiative.

It aims to guide regions and nations in the complex process of designing and implementing holistic strategies to harness the benefits of AI, build competitiveness and realize prosperity for all.

Our white paper, Blueprint for Intelligent Economies: AI Competitiveness through Regional Collaboration, details the collective opportunities available for AI stakeholders to achieve a successful AI journey.

The next phase of this initiative will involve collaborating with regional stakeholders to identify pragmatic solutions that develop or enhance AI ecosystems in regions.

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World Economic Forum articles may be republished in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International Public License, and in accordance with our Terms of Use.

The views expressed in this article are those of the author alone and not the World Economic Forum.

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