UN warns AI could deepen global inequality

A United Nations scientific panel has warned that uneven AI adoption could deepen global inequality as investment and technical capacity concentrate in a small group of countries and firms. António Guterres urged governments not to wait for shared rules, saying advances in AI could leave governments and people with less influence over outcomes.

The panel said AI could aid sectors such as agriculture and education, but also create risks including fraud, election interference and weaker democratic accountability. Countries dependent on foreign models, cloud infrastructure and data pipelines may gain access to AI without meaningful control over safeguards, standards or local suitability.

Proposed steps include building local datacenters and data infrastructure, improving AI literacy in schools and workplaces, investing in developers, creating AI safety institutes, countering disinformation and monitoring deployed systems with real users and tasks. The panel also highlighted language gaps and connectivity barriers, noting that more than a billion people now use AI weekly, while More than 2 billion people are completely offline.