World Bank asks developing nations to adopt low-cost AI for public services

Washington,UPDATED: Aug 4, 2026 21:12 IST

The World Bank on Tuesday urged developing countries to adopt artificial intelligence and adapt small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions to improve medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension for millions. In its World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence, the bank said AI could help developing countries achieve in a decade what might otherwise take a century, if governments move quickly to bridge gaps in power, connectivity, skills and institutional quality.

The report said AI presents a major opportunity for developing economies even as concerns over automation remain. It found that 4.5 per cent of existing jobs in low and middle-income countries are at risk from generative AI, compared with 14.2 per cent in high-income countries. At the same time, 16.2 per cent of jobs in developing economies could see a meaningful productivity boost from AI, close to the 18.7 per cent projected for high-income countries.

"AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it," said Indermit Gill, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist of the World Bank Group. He said that by adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, developing countries can bring better medical care, education, judicial services and agricultural extension within reach of millions. "But they must hurry: AI is spreading faster and is more context-specific than earlier general-purpose technologies like electricity and the internet. World Development Report 2026 shows how developing countries are responding - and succeeding," he said.

The report said the biggest promise of AI for developing countries lies not in replacing workers but in strengthening what they can do. It described itself as the first comprehensive assessment of AI's implications for developing countries and said businesses and governments in these economies have already begun using AI. According to the report, AI is helping people, businesses and governments solve problems, analyse information, improve forecasts and deliver services at a larger scale. It added that governments could use AI to improve tax collection, social programmes, disaster response, health care and education.

The report said developing economies are currently facing their weakest average growth performance in three decades, but AI could improve that before the end of the 2020s while delivering direct benefits to people. Overall, the World Bank's assessment said the technology could help developing countries raise productivity and expand public services if they act quickly to address the barriers that could otherwise leave them behind.

With PTI Inputs

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