Just as industrialisation in the 19th century “split
the world into a wealthy few and the impoverished”, the AI
revolution could do the same.
“Countries
that invest in skills, computing power and sound governance
systems will benefit, others risk being left far
behind,” warned Philip Schellekens, Chief
Economist for the UN Development Programme for the Asia and
Pacific region.
In a new report,
the agency highlighted that women and young adults face the
biggest threat from AI in the workplace, with wider
improvements in health, education and income potentially
falling by the wayside.
Meanwhile, the
technology juggernaut is expected to inject nearly $1
trillion in economic gains over the next decade across Asia
alone, data indicates.
The UN agency said
that although China, Singapore and South Korea have invested
heavily in – and benefited massively from – AI,
entry-level workers in many South Asian nations face
“significant exposure” to changes already underway,
including automation.
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“Limited infrastructure,
skills, computing power, and governance capacity
constrain the potential benefits of AI while
amplifying risks, including job displacement, data
exclusion, and indirect impacts such as rising global energy
and water demands from AI-intensive systems,” UNDP said.
Job
protection
To prevent a looming jobs crunch, UNDP is
urging governments to consider the ethics of AI before
rolling it out further – and to ensure this is done so in
as inclusive a way as possible.
“AI is racing ahead,
and many countries are still at the starting line,” said
Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP
Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
“The
Asia and Pacific experience highlights how quickly gaps can
emerge between those shaping AI and those being shaped by
it.”
Basic needs to fulfil
For countries
including Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, the
priority isn’t so much developing AI as making use of
existing and relatively simple voice-based tools that
frontline health workers and farmers can use, even when the
internet is down.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to
more than 55 per cent of the world’s population, putting
it at the centre of AI transition.
According to UNDP,
the region hosts more than half of global AI users and is
rapidly expanding its innovation footprint; China
alone holds nearly 70 per cent of global AI
patents, while six countries host more than 3,100
newly funded AI companies.
“AI could lift annual GDP
growth in the region by around two percentage points and
raise productivity by up to five per cent in sectors such as
health and finance,” the UN agency said in its report.
It
notes how the Afghanistan’s average income is 200 times
lower than in Singapore, which partly explains why AI
take-up is concentrated in the hands of so few wealthy
countries today.
“We’re not starting from a level
playing field in this region,” said Mr. Schellekens…This
is the most unequal region in the whole
world.”
