The World Bank has urged developing countries to accelerate the adoption of artificial intelligence, warning that nations that fail to embrace the technology risk falling further behind in economic growth and public service delivery.
The call was made on Tuesday during the launch of the World Bank’s annual World Development Report, which argues that AI presents a unique opportunity to improve governance and expand access to essential services.
World Bank Group Chief Economist Indermit Gill said developing economies do not need expensive AI infrastructure to benefit from the technology.
“AI has thrown developing economies a lifeline, and they should seize it,” Gill said.
“They do not need large models or big data centers to reap its benefits.”
He encouraged countries to adopt affordable, locally adapted AI tools capable of improving healthcare, education, agriculture and justice systems.
The report noted that while advanced AI models developed primarily in the United States and China require massive computing power, data centres and energy resources, lower-cost AI solutions can still deliver meaningful results when tailored to local needs.
According to the World Bank, developing economies are experiencing their weakest average growth in three decades.
“AI could significantly boost that performance before the end of the 2020s while delivering tangible benefits to people,” the report stated.
It said AI could help expand access to medical, legal, educational and agricultural services for underserved populations far more quickly than traditional approaches.
The report comes as many lower-income countries continue to recover from successive economic shocks that prompted the World Bank earlier this year to describe the 2020s as a “lost decade” for their growth. The institution also recently downgraded its 2026 global growth forecast, citing the economic impact of the Iran war, with developing economies bearing the greatest burden.
To maximise AI’s potential, the report recommends that governments invest in electricity generation, digital infrastructure, computing capacity and the availability of local data while developing AI solutions suited to local languages and conditions.
“The window to get this right is narrow,” said Gaurav Nayyar, director of the report.
“AI presents a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to solve problems that have resisted solutions for generations.”
The report highlighted practical examples of AI already improving governance, including increasing diabetes screening in Bangladesh and helping Indian farmers reduce costs through more accurate weather forecasting.
It also stressed that AI solutions must remain accessible to people with limited digital access.
“For example, AI solutions will need to be delivered through voice calls on basic mobile phones for those who cannot read or afford smartphones.”
The World Bank warned that governments must also strengthen safeguards around privacy, fairness and public trust as AI adoption expands.
It cautioned that unchecked AI deployment could widen inequalities between countries, increase domestic inequality, concentrate market power and undermine confidence in public institutions.
While the report said AI currently poses limited employment risks in developing economies, it warned that over time automation could eliminate many middle-income jobs that traditionally drive economic mobility.
The report disclosed that it was produced with assistance from several advanced AI systems, including models developed by OpenAI, DeepSeek, Google and Anthropic.
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