AI’s rapid rise risks deepening divides, with development concentrated in major economies and firms. Strategic investment and inclusive global governance are key to ensuring its benefits are widely shared.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is fast becoming the defining technology of our time. A new UN Trade and Development (UNCTAD) report projects the global AI market will soar from $189 billion in 2023 to $4.8 trillion by 2033 – a 25-fold increase in just a decade. By then, AI could quadruple its share of the global frontier technology market, rising from 7% to 29% and emerging as the sector’s dominant force. But AI’s rapid growth risks widening global divides. Development is highly concentrated, with advanced and large economies benefiting from a deeper talent pool of workers with the needed skills.
In 2022, just 100 companies – mainly in the United States and China – accounted for 40% of global AI research and development (R&D). Combined, the two countries hold 60% of all AI patents and produce a third of global AI publications.
AI at work: Global impact on jobs
AI is already reshaping industries – from content creation and product design to automated coding and customer service.
Globally, it could affect 40% of jobs, with up to one third in advanced economies at risk of automation. But those same economies are better placed to benefit: 27% of their jobs could be enhanced by AI, boosting productivity and complementing human skills.
Developing countries must catch up on national strategies
To compete in an AI-driven world, developing countries need to rethink industrial policies, shifting the focus toward technology, innovation and knowledge-intensive services.
They need to catch up in setting national AI strategies. By 2023, two thirds of developed economies had one – compared to just 30% of developing countries (excluding the least developed). Among least developed countries, only 12% had a strategy in place.
According to the report, national strategies should focus on AI’s three key leverage points: infrastructure, data and skills. Priorities include:
- Upgrading infrastructure to ensure equitable access to electricity, the internet and computing power.
- Promoting open data and sharing to improve storage, access and collaboration.
- Building AI literacy across the population by integrating STEM and AI into education from early schooling to lifelong learning.
Deciding AI’s future: Global cooperation is essential
AI is borderless, but its governance is fragmented and dominated by a few wealthy nations. Only the G7 countries are involved in all major AI governance initiatives, while 118 countries – mostly developing – are not involved in any.
This lack of representation is alarming. While national regulation is important, inclusive global collaboration is essential to ensure AI serves the public good.
Today’s AI landscape is shaped by multinational tech giants. Apple, Nvidia and Microsoft each have a market value of around $3 trillion – rivaling the GDP of the entire African continent.
The Technology and Innovation Report 2025 calls for inclusive AI governance that puts people first, urging multi-stakeholder cooperation to align AI with global development goals and ensure its benefits are widely shared.
Stronger international cooperation can ensure AI drives inclusive progress — not deepen inequalities.
