📋 Tender Overview
The Artificial Intelligence revolution will only widen the gap between high and low-income countries unless cooperative international action is taken, a new report from the ILO and the UN Office of the Secretary General’s Envoy on Technology warns.
The report, titled Mind the AI Divide: Shaping a Global Perspective on the Future of Work found that AI is revolutionizing industries worldwide, offering tremendous opportunities for innovation and productivity. However, it is also exacerbating economic and social inequalities due to uneven rates of investment, adoption, and use. This emerging “AI divide” means high-income nations disproportionately benefit from AI advancements, while low- and medium-income countries, particularly in Africa, lag.
The workplace is where Artificial Intelligence can lead to productivity gains and improved working conditions. Unequal access to infrastructure, technology, quality education, and training, however, could lead to uneven adoption of AI, which would, in turn, deepen inequalities globally.
High-income countries are well-positioned to leverage AI for productivity gains while developing countries could face bottlenecks due to a lack of digital infrastructure. This disparity could turn a temporary buffer against AI-driven changes into a long-term barrier to economic prosperity.
Global partnerships and proactive strategies to support developing nations, including access to digital infrastructure, upskilling, and social dialogue, are necessary prerequisites to closing the technological gap and ensuring that the AI revolution doesn’t leave significant portions of the world’s population behind.
Annually, more than $300 billion is spent globally on technology to enhance computing capacity, but these investments are focused mainly on higher-income nations, creating a disparity in access to infrastructure and skills development that puts developing countries and their homegrown start-ups at a severe disadvantage.
