<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said investment in AI could exceed spending associated with building railways, electricity grids and the internet.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
The immediate investment boom is supporting growth, particularly in the United States and Asian countries supplying AI hardware. However, unequal adoption risks leaving developing economies behind. \u201cThe real promise lies in the future: the prospect of a positive supply shock that could significantly boost productivity and raise global growth,\u201d Georgieva said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
IMF estimates suggest AI could add about 0.5 percentage points to annual global growth over the next decade. Achieving those gains would require businesses to redesign processes, products and working practices.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
However, major technology companies are increasingly using debt to finance data centres and other infrastructure. The sector\u2019s share of investment-grade bond issuance increased from less than 1% to 10% within two years.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Georgieva warned that disappointing earnings or cybersecurity incidents could trigger a market correction across the heavily connected AI ecosystem. \u201cGiven the sizable cross-border holdings of AI assets, the losses could spread around the world,\u201d Georgieva said.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
About 40% of jobs globally are exposed to AI, increasing to 60% in advanced economies. Some positions will be strengthened by the technology, while others could disappear.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Employer demand in Asia-Pacific has declined by about 10% in occupations highly exposed to AI, although new jobs are emerging for workers capable of using the technology.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Georgieva said governments should prioritise financial stability, wider adoption and support for affected workers.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Regulators could use existing capital and concentration requirements to manage financial risks, while governments and businesses should strengthen cybersecurity.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Countries also need reliable digital and energy infrastructure. Advanced economies are three times better prepared digitally than low-income countries.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Data centres are expected to consume 3% of global electricity by 2030, exceeding Japan\u2019s current electricity demand.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Workers will require cognitive, creative and technical skills, alongside retraining programmes and social protection.<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cWe must take public concerns about AI seriously,\u201d Georgieva said. \u201cBut AI also holds the promise of a more productive world where humans, aided by technology we invented, achieve things we never would have thought possible.\u201d<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
–IMF\/ChannelAfrica–<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":44435,"template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_members_access_role":[],"_members_access_error":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"news-type":[44],"class_list":["post-48226","news","type-news","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","news-type-finance","entry"],"acf":{"short_description":"Artificial intelligence (AI) could add 0.5 percentage points to annual global growth, but concentrated investment, debt and labour disruption pose significant economic risks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.","published_date":"","news_description":"Artificial intelligence (AI) could add 0.5 percentage points to annual global growth, but concentrated investment, debt and labour disruption pose significant economic risks, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) says.","form_embed":"","author":"","image_caption":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48226","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/news"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48226\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48229,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news\/48226\/revisions\/48229"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/44435"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48226"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"news-type","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.channelafrica.co.za\/channelafrica\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/news-type?post=48226"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}