The global Artificial Intelligence (AI) market is projected to multiply 25-fold in the next decade, potentially adding trillions to world GDP, but a concerted global effort is needed to ensure these gains serve inclusive and sustainable development, warned Rebeca Grynspan, Secretary-General of UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD).
Speaking at the UNCTAD16 ministerial roundtable, Harnessing artificial intelligence for inclusive and sustainable development, Secretary-General Grynspan emphasized that the central question is whether these vast economic benefits will “serve development, benefiting all and not just a few.”
Widening divides threaten equitable progress
Secretary-General Grynspan highlighted alarming gaps that threaten to leave the Global South behind, despite AI being a crucial source of resilience for global trade and investment during periods of uncertainty.
- Investment concentration: Just 100 companies, predominantly in developed countries, account for over 40% of global business investment in R&D. This investment in AI has been a primary driver of economic resilience.
- Governance exclusion: A staggering 118 countries—mainly from the Global South—are absent from major global AI governance discussions. Furthermore, fewer than one-third of developing countries have adopted national AI strategies.
- Scale of Inequality: The market capitalization of some leading AI companies, exceeding $3 trillion, is greater than the entire GDP of Africa.
“These gaps have real implications for development,” Grynspan stressed, citing examples of farmers lacking connectivity for AI-powered climate forecasting, manufacturers without access to affordable technology, and hospitals needing infrastructure before they can implement advanced diagnostics. “The promise of AI is real. The potential is immense, but promise becomes progress only through the real diffusion of the technologies.”
Call for action: Infrastructure, skills, and global cooperation
To accelerate the diffusion of technology and close the widening digital divides, UNCTAD is calling for targeted action at both the national and global levels.
At the national level, countries need concrete roadmaps, not just aspirational plans, focused on three essentials: infrastructure, data and skills.
These strategies must enable local innovation and align technological progress with national development priorities.
Global cooperation: A shared facility and inclusive governance
Recognizing AI’s borderless nature, UNCTAD is pushing for global cooperation that ensures developing countries have a voice in setting standards and norms.
Key proposals include:
- Inclusive governance: Developing governance frameworks for data—AI’s lifeblood—that promote accountability and interoperability. This work is actively underway through UNCTAD’s role in the Commission on Science and Technology for Development.
- Global shared digital facility: UNCTAD is proposing a facility, inspired by successful joint ventures like CERN in Europe, to provide equitable access to AI infrastructure. This would promote open innovation and allow regions to share knowledge and resources, making the diffusion of technology more effective and affordable than requiring every nation to build its own comprehensive infrastructure.
“AI’s trajectory isn’t predetermined,” concluded Secretary-General Grynspan. “Whether it widens gaps or closes them depends on choices we make now—about investment, about governance, about whose voices shape the rules… These commitments need dialogues like these to translate them into action.”
The outcome document being negotiated at UNCTAD16 is expected to recognize the importance of bridging digital divides and supporting developing countries to harness emerging technologies.
