The World Bank is calling on developing countries to start building “small AI” models. These are AI tools that can run on a mobile phone, even where internet access is weak.
The message came from Paschal Donohoe, the World Bank’s chief knowledge officer. His comments come as the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) hold their annual meetings this week in Bangkok, Thailand.
What Is Small AI?
Small AI uses specialized models trained on narrower sets of data. Each model is built for a specific purpose rather than for general use.
Donohoe said these tools would work in local settings with low connectivity. He added that they would use the local language of each community and would usually be available on a mobile phone.
He said the technology could speed up growth in emerging economies. In his view, development that might have taken centuries could now happen within decades.
Donohoe, a former finance minister of Ireland, pointed to farmers in India as an example. Farmers in the World Bank’s AgriConnect program needed soil analysis in their own language.
He said there will not be enough scientists and farm experts to serve every small farm in India. Small AI on a phone could help meet those information needs, he said.
Donohoe suggested such products could come from work between the World Bank, governments, and private companies.
Private Capital and Basic Infrastructure
Under its president, Ajay Banga, the World Bank has focused on drawing private money into emerging economies. Donohoe said the bank mobilized $120 billion (£90 billion) in private capital over the past year.
The bank used guarantees and other financial tools to do this. It comes at a time when many countries, including the US and the UK, are cutting their aid budgets.
“We want to highlight the link between private capital mobilisation and jobs and economic development,” Donohoe said.
The World Bank’s annual world development report, published in August, also praised the potential benefits of AI. But it pointed out that almost a third of rural schools in sub-Saharan Africa lacked electricity.
The same report found that more than two-thirds of those schools did not have a steady internet connection.
On Monday, IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva spoke on a panel about AI’s impact. She called on governments to put the basic conditions in place for the technology to succeed.
She listed access to electricity and digital infrastructure. She also said people must be ready to adopt AI, and governments should protect against bad actors.
“If we work hard to have the basics for it, [adoption] can be very democratic. As democratic as the cellphone,” she said.
Georgieva warned that over time, 40% of jobs worldwide are likely to be either changed or eliminated by AI. She said the effect would be hardest on young people starting their careers.
She explained that young workers usually begin in routine, repetitive jobs and then move up. “But if they’re gone, I don’t think any young person wants to be a barista in a coffee shop as a professional future,” she said.
