Google has published "AI Sprinters," a new report that provides emerging markets with a strategic roadmap to harness the transformative potential of artificial intelligence. Alongside the report, Google.org has also committed $15 million to support AI skills training initiatives, underscoring the company's commitment to empowering developing nations in the AI era.
AI has the potential to significantly benefit people worldwide, particularly in developing countries across Latin America, the Middle East, Asia, and Africa. It can provide innovative solutions to challenges such as poor infrastructure, youth unemployment, uneven access to education and healthcare, and food insecurity.
The AI Sprinters report builds upon the framework established in Google's 2020 Digital Sprinters report, which outlined strategies for policymakers to leverage digital technologies for economic growth. The latest report emphasizes that becoming an "AI Sprinter" requires not only widespread AI adoption but also adaptation to local needs and challenges.
In it, Google highlights four game-changing recommendations for emerging markets to accelerate their AI integration:
- Revolutionize infrastructure through 100% adoption of cloud-first policies, prioritizing cloud solutions over traditional IT systems to enable cost-effective and scalable AI deployment.
- Support the workforce with national AI skill initiatives, fostering collaboration between the public and private sectors to build AI fluency at all levels, from basic literacy to advanced technical expertise.
- Modernize national data systems by investing in data infrastructure, promoting open data principles, and enabling trusted cross-border data flows to train effective AI models tailored to local needs.
- Foster an enabling regulatory environment that ensures AI is responsibly and boldly deployed, adopting risk-based and proportionate approaches to regulation, maintaining innovation-friendly privacy and copyright frameworks, supporting international AI standards, and implementing national AI strategies.
The report showcases real-world examples of AI's transformative impact across various sectors in emerging markets. For instance, in agriculture, AI-enabled solutions run on smartphones can provide smallholder farmers with real-time data and targeted insights on crop management. In the manufacturing sector, AI-powered predictive maintenance can reduce breakdowns by 70% and maintenance costs by 25%. These case studies underscore AI's potential to drive inclusive economic growth and address unique challenges faced by developing nations.
Despite the optimistic outlook, the report also acknowledges the roadblocks to AI adoption in emerging markets, including inadequate digital infrastructure, skill gaps, lagging investment, and the lack of an enabling policy ecosystem. To overcome these challenges, the report suggests that regional institutions and multilateral development banks have a crucial role in providing the necessary support and expertise to ensure no country is left behind.
Google's $15 million commitment to AI skills training through Google.org further reinforces the company's dedication to bridging the digital divide and preparing emerging markets for the AI-driven future. By focusing on underserved communities, this initiative aims to ensure that the benefits of AI are shared broadly and equitably.
As the world's financial leaders gather for the annual World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, Google says it is calling on governments, international institutions, and development agencies to prioritize AI and commit dedicated funding to support its integration into various sectors. By investing in the right public policies and collaborating with the private sector, emerging markets can seize the once-in-a-generation opportunity presented by AI to close the digital divide and improve the lives of millions.