AI's impact could worsen gaps between world's rich and poor, a UN report
says
[December 02, 2025] By
ELAINE KURTENBACH
BANGKOK (AP) — Behind the hoopla over the promise of artificial
intelligence lay difficult realities, including how such technology
might affect people already disadvantaged in a data-driven world.
A new report by the United Nations Development Program notes most of the
gains from AI are likely to be reaped by wealthy nations unless steps
are taken to use its power to help close gaps in access to basic needs,
as well as such advanced know-how.
The report released Tuesday likens the situation to the “Great
Divergence” of the industrial revolution, when many Western countries
saw rapid modernization while others fell behind.
Questions over how companies and other institutions will use AI are a
near universal concern given its potential to change or replace some
jobs done by people with computers and robots.
But while much of the attention devoted to AI focuses on productivity,
competitiveness and growth, the more important question is what it will
mean for human lives, the authors note.
“We tend to overemphasize the role of technology,” said Michael
Muthukrishna of the London School of Economics, the report's main
author, told reporters. “We need to ensure it’s not technology first,
but it’s people first,” he said, speaking by video at the report’s
launch in Bangkok.
The risk of exclusion is an issue for communities where most people are
still struggling to access skills, electric power and internet
connectivity, for older people, for people displaced by war, civil
conflict and climate disasters. At the same time, such people may be
“invisible” in data that will not take them into account, the report
said.
“As a general-purpose technology, AI can lift productivity, spark new
industries, and help latecomers catch up,” the report says.
Better advice on farming, analysis of X-rays within seconds and faster
medical diagnoses, more effective weather forecasts and damage
assessments hold promise for rural communities and areas prone to
natural disasters.
“AI systems that analyze poverty, health, and disaster risks enable
faster, fairer, and more transparent decisions, turning data into
continuous learning and public value,” it says.
Still, even in wealthy nations like the United States, the potential for
data centers to devour too large a share of electricity and water has
raised concerns. Ramping up power generation to meet higher demand may
hinder progress in limiting the emissions of carbon from burning fossil
fuels that contribute to global warming, while also causing health
hazards.
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Chat GPT app icon is seen on a smartphone screen, Aug. 4, 2025, in
Chicago. (AP Photo/Kiichiro Sato, File)
 The technology raises ethical,
privacy and cybersecurity concerns: researchers have found hackers
using AI to automate portions of cyberattacks. There also is the
problem of deepfakes that can misinform or facilitate criminal
activity.
Asian nations including China, Japan, South Korea and Singapore are
well placed to take advantage of AI tools, the report notes, while
places like Afghanistan, the Maldives and Myanmar lack skills,
reliable power and other resources needed to tap into the computing
potential of AI. Inequalities between regions within countries mean
some places even in advanced economies are prone to be left behind.
About a quarter of the Asia-Pacific region lacks online access, the
report says.
If such gaps are not closed, many millions may be excluded from the
kinds of devices, digital payment systems, digital IDs and education
and skills that are required to participate fully in the global
economy, falling further behind, said Philip Schellekens, the UNDP's
chief economist for the Asia Pacific.
Other risks include misinformation and disinformation, surveillance
that violates rights to privacy and systems that can act as “black
boxes,” reinforcing biases against minorities or other groups. So
transparency and effective regulations are crucial guardrails for
ensuring AI is used in fair and accountable ways, he said.
“We believe we need more balance, less hysteria and hype,”
Schellekens said.
AI is becoming essential for modern life, like electricity, roads,
and now the internet, so governments need to invest more in digital
infrastructure, education and training, fair competition and social
protections, the report says.
“The goal," it says, "is to democratize access to AI so that every
country and community can benefit while protecting those most at
risk from disruption.”
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