IMF Managing Director: The wave of AI investment fuels global economic growth.

On October 12, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stated that strong investment in Artificial Intelligence (AI) infrastructure is helping the global economy maintain a growth rate of around 3%, while also greatly benefiting many Asian economies that provide hardware for this technology, including Thailand .

Georgieva said the wave of investment in Artificial Intelligence is creating a “shock in demand and investment,” which could boost growth in developed Asian economies by 0.5-1 percentage point, while emerging Asian economies could see an increase of 0.2-0.8 percentage points.

According to her, the shift to a new phase of acceleration is helping the global economy maintain a growth rate of around 3%, despite the impact of energy supply shocks.

She made this statement on the very first day of the annual meeting of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank (WB) in Bangkok, Thailand.

Last July, the International Monetary Fund projected global economic growth of 3% in 2026. This financial institution is expected to release its updated outlook report on October 13th.

Georgieva likened Artificial Intelligence to a “slow tsunami,” which could cause profound changes to jobs, economic growth, education, and even how governments generate tax revenue, as economic activity is projected to shift from labor to capital.

The International Monetary Fund estimates that over time, Artificial Intelligence could support improved work efficiency, reducing the value of jobs or eliminating approximately 40% of existing jobs. An initial study suggests that 10% of jobs in the US now require AI skills. While routine, repetitive jobs are shrinking, low-paying jobs are increasing in two low-paying sectors: construction and data centers.

According to the head of the International Monetary Fund, the US, China, and India are the most important countries in the AI ​​supply chain. However, many businesses building the necessary infrastructure for this technology are located in Asia.

World Bank President Ajay Banga, who considers employment a central focus of his tenure, said the development bank is concentrating on harnessing the potential of small-scale Artificial Intelligence applications, independent of large-scale language models, to create significant productivity improvements for farmers, healthcare systems, teachers, and others in emerging markets.

Speaking at the same event, Singaporean President Tharman Shanmugaratnam argued that governments need to address the issue of Artificial Intelligence reducing job opportunities for recent graduates.

He also argued that the world needs to prevent Artificial Intelligence from creating a new gap in growth and job creation between developing and developed economies.

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