IMF and OECD Warn AI Access Could Widen the Rich-Poor Divide

Artificial intelligence could increase global growth, but poorer countries, smaller companies and younger workers may miss out unless they gain better access to electricity, digital infrastructure and skills. That was the warning from officials at the International Monetary Fund and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, according to Reuters.

Era Dabla-Norris of the IMF told the Reuters Global Markets Forum that effective AI adoption could add about 0.5% to annual global growth over the medium term. She also cautioned that the productivity evidence so far is much less conclusive.

Exposure is not the same as adoption

OECD chief economist Stefano Scarpetta said AI could add 0.4% to 1.2% to annual productivity growth across member countries. Yet workplace use trails consumer use, with limited adoption in core business functions. “There is a large gap between exposure and actual use,” Scarpetta said, according to Reuters.

The IMF estimates that roughly 40% of jobs worldwide could be exposed to AI. Exposure does not mean every job will disappear, but it does mean workers may need new skills and employers may reorganize tasks. Dabla-Norris said younger and entry-level workers could be especially vulnerable if AI takes over tasks that traditionally helped people gain experience.

Infrastructure and skills determine who benefits

The IMF’s AI materials similarly say emerging and developing economies need stronger digital infrastructure and skills to avoid a widening global divide. The policy challenge is therefore broader than access to models. Countries also need dependable power, connectivity, education, reskilling and institutions capable of guiding adoption.

The warning arrives as corporations spend heavily on chips and data centers. That investment may support growth, but it also raises the stakes for countries that cannot afford comparable infrastructure or for workers whose route into skilled employment changes first.

Illustrative AI-processor concept; not a product or system made by a company named in this report. Photo: Igor Omilaev / Unsplash. Unsplash License; cropped to 16:9. Image source; license.

Sources

Reuters report; IMF artificial-intelligence topic page; OECD AI topic page.