World Bank: AI Can Accelerate Developing Economies' Growth

Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Artificial intelligence can become one of the key factors in accelerating economic growth in developing countries, but realizing its potential requires timely investments in energy supply, digital infrastructure, skills training, and the development of public institutions. This is the conclusion reached by the authors of World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, published by the World Bank Group.

The report notes that with the right public policies, AI could allow developing economies to achieve in a single decade a path of development that under normal conditions would take about a century. At the same time, delays in addressing existing infrastructure and institutional constraints could lead to a widening technological gap between countries.

According to the World Bank, the risk of job automation by generative artificial intelligence in high-income countries is more than triple the figure for low- and middle-income states. While 14.2% of jobs in advanced economies are subject to potential automation, the figure is 4.5% in developing countries.

At the same time, the potential for boosting labor productivity remains high. In developing countries, AI is capable of improving work efficiency in 16.2% of jobs, which is only slightly below the level in advanced states, where it is estimated at 18.7%. The authors of the study believe that the main effect of technology adoption for most developing economies will be productivity growth rather than mass job cuts.

Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group, noted that to reap benefits from artificial intelligence, countries do not necessarily need to build their own large language models or construct large-scale data centers. According to him, using small, affordable AI solutions adapted to local conditions can expand access to medical, educational, judicial, and agricultural services for millions of people.

The report emphasizes that artificial intelligence is already helping public authorities and businesses analyze data, improve forecasting, and enhance the quality of services provided. Technologies can be used to support doctors in diagnosing diseases, assist farmers in decision-making, increase enterprise efficiency, and improve tax administration, social programs, healthcare and education systems, and emergency response.

The authors of the study draw attention to the fact that developing economies are experiencing their lowest average growth rates in the last three decades. In their assessment, artificial intelligence can noticeably accelerate economic development as early as the late 2020s, although such a scenario is not guaranteed.

Among the main obstacles listed are power shortages, limited internet access, a lack of computing capacity, data, qualified specialists, and effective public institutions. In the absence of necessary reforms, AI could worsen global and domestic inequality, lead to further concentration of market power, and create additional threats to security, personal data protection, and public trust.

The World Bank proposes a phased approach to the development of artificial intelligence technologies. In the first phase, countries are advised to actively adopt existing solutions, then adapt them to national conditions, and only after forming the necessary infrastructure transition to developing their own frontier AI systems.

Gaurav Nayyar, director of the report's author team, stressed that the window of opportunity for making effective decisions is narrow. According to him, countries that invest now in energy, internet, human capital development, and institutions will be positioned to use artificial intelligence in the interests of their citizens and economy.

Special attention in the study is paid to the development of basic infrastructure. Sub-Saharan African countries are cited as an example, where nearly a third of rural schools lack reliable electricity, and more than two-thirds lack stable internet access. To address this problem, the World Bank, together with partners, is implementing the Mission 300 initiative, which aims to provide electricity to 300 million residents of the region by 2030.

The authors of the report also recommend expanding access to computing resources, increasing data volumes including materials in local languages, supporting innovative companies, improving public procurement mechanisms and project evaluation, and strengthening public trust in artificial intelligence through responsible regulation and international cooperation.

In their view, voluntary industry standards could play an important role at the initial stage, followed if necessary by the application of existing legislation to prevent negative consequences of AI use.