Decoding AI — What the promise of artificial intelligence means for developing economies Somik LallGaurav Nayyar September 22, 2026 This page in: English

https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/decoding-ai---what-the-promise-of-artificial-intelligence-means-?cid=ECR_E_NewsletterWeekly_EN_EXT&deliveryName=DM289741 AI has spread to lower-income countries 40 times faster than the internet did. The World Development Report 2026 argues developing economies should not wait to act on that window — using AI to extend scarce expertise, boost productivity, and improve public services. The gap to close: advanced economies are projected to capture double the productivity gains, largely because they adopt AI faster.