A senior United Nations official has raised concerns that the rapid advancement of artificial intelligence may exacerbate economic disparities between developed and developing nations. Speaking at the UN Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar on Sunday, Tomas Lamanauskas, deputy secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, highlighted what he termed an “opportunity divide” as a major concern distinct from traditional digital inequality.
Lamanauskas pointed to existing infrastructure gaps as evidence of the emerging challenge. Africa and Latin America together account for only 3.3 percent of global data centre capacity, while approximately 2.2 billion people worldwide lack internet access entirely. The UN official stated that bridging the digital infrastructure gap would require an estimated $2.8 trillion in investment by 2030. Language representation in AI systems also reflects disparities, with only seven percent of African languages currently represented in AI translation tools.
Adoption rates for generative AI reveal significant regional differences. Approximately 29 percent of working-age people in developed countries use generative AI compared to 16 percent in developing nations, a gap that Lamanauskas noted affects productivity and job market access. The December 2025 UN Development Programme report cautioned that AI could trigger a new era of inequality between nations, potentially reversing decades of progress in narrowing economic disparities.
While AI technology presents opportunities for advancement in health, education, agriculture, and other sectors, concerns about employment disruption are mounting. Estimates suggest AI could displace 90 million jobs while creating 170 million new ones, though roughly 40 percent of workplace skills could change by 2030. A February report estimated that approximately 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies and 40 percent in emerging economies could be exposed to AI-related impacts.
Despite these challenges, Lamanauskas stated that halting AI advancement is neither possible nor practical, noting that 104 countries now have formal AI strategies compared with four a decade ago. He emphasized the need for greater investment in digital infrastructure, education, and regulatory frameworks to enable developing countries to participate in shaping the technology’s development and ensuring its benefits are broadly distributed.
Article Attribution | Read More at Article Source
Article summary produced by Claude AI