UNITED NATIONS (APP) – Millions of jobs across Asia could be at risk as the artificial intelligence (AI) industry booms at the expense of poorer countries that still struggle to provide basic digital access and literacy, United Nations economists said Tuesday.
Just as industrialization in the 19th century “divided the world into a few rich people and a few poor people,” the AI revolution could do the same. “Countries that invest in skills, numeracy and sound governance systems will benefit, while others risk being left far behind,” Philippe Scherekens, chief economist at the United Nations Development Program for Asia and the Pacific, warned.
In a new report, the agency highlighted that women and young people face the greatest threat from AI in the workplace, potentially derailing widespread improvements in health, education and incomes.
Meanwhile, the tech giant is expected to generate nearly $1 trillion in economic benefits over the next decade in Asia alone, data shows.
The United Nations agency said that while China, Singapore and South Korea have invested heavily in and are benefiting greatly from AI, entry-level workers in many South Asian countries are facing “significant exposure” to changes already underway, including automation.
“Limited infrastructure, skills, computing power, and governance capacity constrain the potential benefits of AI and amplify risks, including to jobs.
To prevent an impending job crunch, UNDP is calling on governments to consider the ethics of AI before deploying it further and to ensure that this is done in the most inclusive way possible.
“AI is advancing rapidly and many countries are still at the starting line,” said Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
“Asia-Pacific’s experience highlights how quickly a gap can emerge between those shaping AI and those shaped by AI.”
For countries like Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam, the priority is less about developing AI and more about leveraging existing, relatively simple voice-based tools that front-line health workers and farmers can use even when the internet is down.
Asia-Pacific is home to more than 55% of the world’s population, making it the epicenter of the AI transition.
According to UNDP, the region hosts more than half of the world’s AI users and is rapidly expanding its innovation footprint. China alone holds nearly 70% of the world’s AI patents, and six countries are home to more than 3,100 newly funded AI companies.
“AI could boost annual GDP growth in the region by around 2 percentage points and increase productivity by up to 5 percentage points in sectors such as health and finance,” the UN agency said in a report.
The paper points out how average incomes in Afghanistan are 200 times lower than in Singapore, which partly explains why AI adoption is today concentrated in the hands of a very few wealthy countries.
“We are not starting from a level playing field in this region,” Scherekens said, calling it the most unequal region in the entire world.
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