AI Growth Could Widen Global Wealth Gap by $360 Billion, Study Finds
A major think tank study warns AI economic gains will heavily favor wealthy nations, leaving developing countries further behind.
Artificial intelligence adoption risks deepening economic inequality between wealthy and developing nations, according to a major new study from the Ayre think tank that projects a $360 billion disparity in potential economic gains between rich and poor countries.
The research, released from Saint John's, Antigua and Barbuda, underscores a growing concern among economists and policymakers that the AI revolution — while broadly touted as a driver of global productivity — may not distribute its benefits evenly across the international economic order. Nations with established digital infrastructure, capital markets, and skilled labor pools stand to capture a disproportionate share of AI-driven growth.
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Developing economies, by contrast, face structural barriers that could prevent them from accessing or deploying AI tools at scale. These include limited broadband penetration, constrained public investment budgets, and workforces with less exposure to the technical training AI adoption typically demands. The cumulative effect, the study suggests, is a widening gap rather than the convergence many technology optimists have predicted.
The $360 billion figure represents the calculated difference in projected economic gains, framing the stakes in concrete financial terms that may sharpen the urgency for international bodies, development banks, and governments to craft targeted AI access and investment policies before the gap becomes entrenched.
The findings arrive as debates over AI governance and global technology equity intensify at multilateral forums worldwide. Continue reading at Economic News, Trends, Analysis.
