Artificial intelligence could increase divide between rich and poor states, UN report warns
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The UN believes artificial intelligence is heralding a new era of rising inequality among countries.
PHOTO: REUTERS
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GENEVA – Artificial Intelligence could widen gaps between developed and developing countries, requiring policy measures to measure the impact, a UN report said on Dec 2.
The report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) warns of a possible “great divergence” emerging between nations in terms of economic performance, people’s skill sets and governing systems.
“We think that AI is heralding a new era of rising inequality between countries, following years of convergence in the last 50 years,” Mr Philip Schellekens, chief economist for the UNDP Asia-Pacific Regional Bureau, said during a news briefing in Geneva.
The UNDP report – The Next Great Divergence: Why AI May Widen Inequality Between Countries – says that trade, technology and development have helped close gaps between states in recent decades, bringing major income, health and education gains.
These gains now risk being eroded.
Ultimately, even wealthier countries would suffer if poorer states are left behind by AI, said Mr Schellekens.
“If inequality continues to rise, the spillover effects of that in terms of the security agenda, in terms of undocumented forms of migration, will also become more daunting,” he said. REUTERS
