The World Bank has urged developing countries to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) tools to improve governance and accelerate economic growth. The organisation warned that nations that fail to embrace the technology risk falling behind.
The World Bank Group’s Chief Economist, Indermit Gill, made the call on Tuesday during the launch of the organisation’s annual World Development Report.
According to Gill, AI offers developing economies a unique opportunity to improve public services without relying on expensive technology infrastructure.
He said developing countries do not need massive AI models or costly data centres to benefit from the technology. Instead, governments should adapt affordable AI tools to meet local needs in sectors such as healthcare, education, agriculture and justice.
Advanced AI systems, most of which have been developed in the United States and China, can analyse large volumes of data and automate complex tasks. However, these systems require significant computing power, electricity and water, raising concerns about environmental sustainability.
The World Bank noted that many developing economies are experiencing their weakest average economic growth in three decades. It said AI could significantly improve growth before the end of the 2020s while delivering practical benefits to citizens.
The report stated that AI could help provide affordable medical, legal, educational and agricultural services to billions of underserved people. It added that the technology could achieve in a decade what might otherwise take a century.
Many lower-income countries have struggled throughout the decade due to multiple economic shocks. Earlier this year, the World Bank described the period as a “lost decade” for economic growth.
The organisation also recently lowered its 2026 global growth forecast to its weakest level since the COVID-19 pandemic. It attributed the slowdown partly to the economic impact of the Iran war, which has affected economies worldwide, with Asia experiencing some of the most severe consequences.
To maximise AI’s benefits, the report recommended that governments invest in electricity generation and distribution, expand access to computing infrastructure and improve the availability of local data.
The report’s director, Gaurav Nayyar, described AI as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve long-standing development challenges.
The World Bank estimated that about 6.8 billion people, representing 83 per cent of the world’s population, live in low-income and developing countries. It stressed that AI solutions must be adapted to suit local conditions and remain accessible to everyone.
The report highlighted successful examples of AI already supporting governance. These include increasing diabetes screening in Bangladesh and helping Indian farmers reduce costs through improved weather forecasting.
It also recommended that AI services be delivered through voice calls on basic mobile phones for people who cannot read or afford smartphones. The report warned that simply importing foreign AI models would not guarantee effective results.
The World Bank further urged policymakers to strengthen public trust by ensuring AI improves public services while protecting privacy and preventing bias in government decisions.
The report warned that AI could widen inequality between countries, increase social divisions, concentrate market power and create new risks to safety, human rights and public confidence if poorly managed.
Although the report said AI currently poses limited employment risks in developing countries, it cautioned that widespread automation could eventually eliminate many middle-class jobs and reduce opportunities for economic mobility.
According to the disclosure accompanying the report, the publication itself was produced with assistance from advanced AI systems developed by OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google and Anthropic.
