Amid fears of artificial intelligence (AI) disrupting society and industries, the International Monetary Fund (IMF) said that it will be the advanced economies that will feel a bigger negative impact from the adoption of AI.

On the other hand, emerging market economies and low-income countries will be less affected by AI’s impact as they have a smaller share of high-skilled jobs that are in abundance in advanced economies.

However, countries considered emerging market economies like the Philippines can also miss out on the potential of AI to create new industries and jobs, if their government do not move fast enough to develop their AI ecosystems.

“Artificial intelligence can increase productivity, boost economic growth, and lift incomes. However, it could also wipe out millions of jobs and widen inequality,” said the article titled “Mapping the World’s Readiness for Artificial Intelligence Shows Prospects Diverge” published at the IMF website (imf.org) and authored by Giovanni Melina.

“Our research has already shown how AI is poised to reshape the global economy. It could endanger 33 percent of jobs in advanced economies, 24 percent in emerging economies, and 18 percent in low-income countries. But, on the brighter side, it also brings enormous potential to enhance the productivity of existing jobs for which AI can be a complementary tool and to create new jobs and even new industries,” he added.

AI PREPAREDNESS INDEX

Based on the IMF’s new AI Preparedness Index Dashboard for 174 countries, the Philippines got a score of 0.5, which is below the 0.6 for the whole of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

Meanwhile, Asia-Pacific as a whole scored 0.52 with Singapore leading with 0.8 followed by Japan and South Korea with 0.73 each, and Taiwan and China getting 0.67 and 0.64, respectively.

India, touted for its highly-skilled workforce in the information technology industry, got a score of 0.49.

North America leads all continents/regions with a score of 0.74 followed by Europe with 0.63. As expected, the United States got a score of 0.77 and Germany, 0.75. The United Kingdom and France got 0.73 and 0.7, respectively. Canada got a score of 0.71.

This means that among the countries in the world, Singapore leads in AI preparedness as it got a score of 0.8.

Sub-Saharan Africa’s overall score was 0.34.

For countries that scored good in AI preparedness, the IMF advised that social safety nets be put in place for workers who will be displaced by AI, among many others.

“For policymakers, those in advanced economies should expand social safety nets, invest in training workers, and prioritize AI innovation and integration. Coordinating with one another globally, these countries also should strengthen regulation to protect people from potential risks and abuses and build trust in AI,” Melina.

On the other hand, countries that scored low in AI preparedness were advised not be left behind in AI adoption, and to facilitate investments on the technology to reap its benefits.

“The policy priority for emerging market and developing economies should be to lay a strong foundation by investing in digital infrastructure and digital training for workers,” it added.

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