World Bank urges developing countries to embrace AI ‘lifeline’ or be left behind

The World Bank is urging developing countries to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve governance outcomes. Indermit Gill, chief economist of the World Bank Group, stated that these nations risk being left behind if they do not embrace AI. He emphasized that developing economies can benefit from AI without requiring large models or extensive data centers. The World Bank recommends adapting lower-cost AI tools to local contexts to achieve improvements in sectors such as health, education, justice, and agriculture. This call to action was made during the organization's launch of its annual World Development Report.