“Countries that invest in capabilities, computing power, and strong governance systems will benefit; others risk being left far behind”warned Philip Schellekens, chief economist of the United Nations Development Program for the Asia-Pacific region.
In a new report, the agency highlighted that women and young adults face the greatest threat from AI in the workplace, and that broader improvements in health, education and income could fall by the wayside.
Meanwhile, The tech giant is expected to inject nearly $1 trillion in economic gains over the next decade in Asia alone. the data indicates.
The UN agency said that although China, Singapore and South Korea have invested heavily in AI (and benefited greatly from it), entry-level workers in many South Asian nations face “significant exposure” to changes already underway, including automation.
“Limited infrastructure, skills, computing power and governance capacity limit the potential benefits of AI while amplifying the risksincluding job displacement, data exclusion, and indirect impacts such as increased global energy and water demand from AI-intensive systems,” UNDP said.
Labor protection
To avoid a looming jobs crisis, UNDP is urging governments to consider the ethics of AI before further implementing it, and to ensure it is done as inclusively as possible.
“AI is advancing and many countries are still at the starting line,” said Kanni Wignaraja, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific.
“The Asia-Pacific experience highlights how quickly gaps can emerge between those who shape AI and those who are shaped by it.”
Basic needs to satisfy
For countries like Cambodia, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, the priority is not so much developing AI but making use of existing, relatively simple voice-based tools that frontline health workers and farmers can use, even when the internet is down.
The Asia-Pacific region is home to more than 55 percent of the world’s population, putting it at the center of the AI transition.
According to UNDP, the region is home to more than half of the world’s AI users and is rapidly expanding its innovation footprint; China alone holds almost 70 percent of global AI patentswhile six countries are home to more than 3,100 newly funded AI companies.
“AI could increase annual GDP growth in the region by around two percentage points and increase productivity by up to five percent in sectors such as health and finance,” the UN agency said in its report.
Note how Afghanistan’s average income is 200 times lower than Singapore’s, which partly explains why AI use is concentrated in the hands of so few rich countries today.
“We are not starting from a level playing field in this region,” said Mr. Schellekens… This is the most unequal region in the world.”