AI's Double-Edged Sword: Bridging or Widening the Global Divide?

AI is changing the world fast. It's not just about cool tech. It's about who gets left behind. The UN has a new report. It says AI could make rich countries richer. But poor countries might fall even further behind. This is like what happened during the Industrial Revolution. Some countries got super advanced. Others got stuck. The big question is: How will AI affect people's lives? Not just about making things faster or cheaper. But about making sure everyone benefits. Michael Muthukrishna from the London School of Economics worked on the report. He says we should focus on people, not just tech. "People first, technology second, " he says. Some people are already struggling. They don't have good internet. Or they don't have the skills to use AI. Or they're dealing with wars or climate disasters. These people might not even show up in the data. So, AI might not help them at all. AI can do good things too. It can help farmers. It can make medical diagnoses faster. It can predict disasters. But even rich countries have problems. AI uses a lot of electricity. This can hurt the environment. And it can cause health issues. There are other risks too. Hackers use AI to attack computers. Deepfakes can spread lies. AI can spy on people. It can also be unfair to minorities. So, we need rules to make sure AI is used fairly. Some countries are ready for AI. Like China, Japan, and South Korea. But others are not. Like Afghanistan, the Maldives, and Myanmar. They don't have the skills or the power they need. Even in rich countries, some places might get left behind. About a quarter of people in Asia don't have internet. If this doesn't change, millions might not be able to use AI. They might fall even further behind. Philip Schellekens is the UN's chief economist for Asia. He says we need to fix these problems. We need to invest in education and infrastructure. We need to make sure AI is fair and safe.