IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the global AI boom is increasingly shaping nations' economic fortunes.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a dominant force in the global economy. Picture: Supplied
Artificial intelligence (AI) is rapidly becoming a dominant force in the global economy, but its benefits are concentrating in a small group of countries, prompting the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to warn that the technology boom could widen economic disparities worldwide.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said the global AI boom is increasingly shaping nations’ economic fortunes, with investment in the technology expected to surpass levels seen during earlier transformative infrastructure expansions such as railways, electricity networks and telecommunications.
Trade
According to Georgieva, growth in AI-related trade is being driven primarily by the United States, China and India, where companies are investing heavily in data centres and related infrastructure.
Other countries are benefiting from semiconductor and robotics production, but many risk being left behind as the technology advances.
“Love it, hate it, or fear it, AI is here, rapidly becoming a key driver of countries’ relative fortunes in the world economy,” Georgieva said.
Economies
She warned that while AI is accelerating growth in leading economies, it is largely bypassing others.
“Yet as this drives forward today’s AI economies, it largely bypasses most others, increasing the risk of widening economic inequality across the globe,” Georgieva said.
Her comments come amid growing international debate about the risks and opportunities associated with increasingly powerful AI systems. Concerns range from the spread of misinformation and cyber threats to automation’s impact on jobs and economic competitiveness.
Tech leap
According to Professor Anné Verhoef, director of the North-West University AI Hub, recent advances in AI represent a significant technological leap, but public discussion should remain grounded in facts.
“For the first time, we have experienced what appears to be a loss of control over AI, with agents seemingly acting independently. That uncertainty has understandably caused anxiety, but we should concentrate on verified facts rather than panic or conspiracy theories,” he said.
Danger
Verhoef said the most immediate danger lies in the potential disruption of critical digital infrastructure rather than science-fiction scenarios involving machines taking over.
“It would not be humanoid robots running around killing people. However, if AI agents hacked and disabled essential systems, the consequences could be extremely damaging to human wellbeing and survival,” he said.
Benefits
Despite the risks, Verhoef said AI continues to deliver major benefits across multiple sectors, including medicine, education and scientific research.
“AI is deeply ambiguous. It presents serious risks, but it has also brought enormous benefits and has the potential to enhance humanity. We should not disregard those achievements whenever alarming incidents occur,” he said.
Global AI
He also argued that attempts to slow global AI development would be hard to enforce because countries and companies compete for technological and economic advantage.
“If one country or company slows down, another is likely to accelerate. AI is about power and money, and everybody wants to dominate the field,” Verhoef said.
Oversight
Instead, he called for stronger oversight of high-risk applications, particularly AI systems used in warfare and weapons technology.
“Humanity must not surrender control of the weapons it has created to AI systems,” he said.
As governments and businesses race to capitalise on AI’s economic potential, Georgieva stressed that broader access to the technology will be essential to prevent the next technological revolution from deepening global inequality.
