Launch of the World Development Report 2026, The Promise of Artificial Intelligence
The debates over artificial intelligence (AI) have devolved into exercises in self-absorption in most developed economies. Silicon Valley is racing for the holy grail - an all-purpose intelligence that outthinks the human mind. Major economies are locked in a contest for global technological supremacy. White-collar workers are losing sleep over chatbots coming to take their jobs. Developing economies should tune out much of this noise. This Report - the first comprehensive assessment of AI’s implications for the rest of the world - shows why.
In a time when development progress has dipped to its weakest pace in 75 years, artificial intelligence (AI) offers developing economies a rare path to greater prosperity. World Development Report 2026 provides the first comprehensive assessment of what AI means for these economies—how firms and governments are already using it, what is holding them back, where the largest gains may lie, and how the risks can be managed.
Opening Remarks
Irene Alaoui, Special Representative to the UN and the WTO, World Bank
PRESENTER
Gaurav Nayyar, Director of the World Bank Group's 2026 World Development Report
DISCUSSANT
Nathan Sussman, Full Professor, International Economics & Pictet Chair in Finance and Development, and Director, Centre for Finance and Development
Registration
Registration required. Please register here.
Organisers
The event is jointly organised by the World Bank and the Centre for Finance and Development (CFD) and is part of the CFD-World Bank High-Level Series on Financing for Development.
