When I write about the cognitive migration now underway, brought about by the rapid advance of gen AI, I do so from the perspective of someone who has spent four decades in the technology industry. My own journey runs from coding business applications in Fortran and COBOL to systems analysis and design, IT project management, enterprise systems consulting, computing hardware sales and technology industry communications. All of it has been centered in the U.S., although I have collaborated with colleagues and clients across Europe and Asia.My writing carries an American, tech-industry vantage point, although I make attempts to see a broader perspective. Perhaps that is fitting, since much of the frontier development of AI remains clustered in Silicon Valley, Seattle, Boston and a handful of other Western hubs. But how does this migration look beyond America’s borders? For millions in the Global South, cognitive migration is less about the loss of white-collar prestige and more about the chance to leapfrog into new opportunities.This divide is visible in the data. The 2025 Edelman Trust Barometer found that fewer than one in three Americans feel comfortable with businesses using AI, while in India, Indonesia and Nigeria nearly two-thirds express comfort. In the West, AI may be perceived to threaten job loss and displacement, and this view may be warranted. A study by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) found that 60% of jobs in advanced economies are exposed to the impact of AI due to the prevalence of cognitive-task-oriented jobs. The Wall Street Journal quoted Ford CEO Jim Farley: “AI will leave a lot of white-collar people behind.”In the Global South, however, AI is often perceived as an opportunity to improve education, strengthen healthcare, modernize agriculture and drive development. One analysis argues that for the Global South, “AI …
