UNDP report warns AI could widen gaps between rich and poor nations

Key facts

• United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report likens AI situation to the 'Great Divergence' of the industrial revolution.
• AI can lift productivity, spark new industries, and help latecomers catch up.
• AI offers better advice on farming, analysis of X-rays within seconds, faster medical diagnoses, more effective weather forecasts and damage assessments.
• AI systems that analyse poverty, health, and disaster risks enable faster, fairer, and more transparent decisions.
• Data centres may devour too large a share of electricity and water.
• Ramping up power generation to meet higher demand may hinder progress in limiting emissions of carbon from burning fossil fuels.
• Hackers use AI to automate portions of cyberattacks.
• Deepfakes can misinform or facilitate criminal activity.
• Asian nations including China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are well placed to take advantage of AI tools.
• Afghanistan, the Maldives and Myanmar lack skills, reliable power and other resources needed to tap into AI.
• About a quarter of the Asia-Pacific region lacks online access.