According to a World Bank report, artificial intelligence serves as a “lifeline” for developing and small economies, helping them achieve significant progress in a short period of time through the use of affordable technologies in key sectors.
The report also notes that widespread job losses due to AI pose less of a threat to developing economies, and that developing countries stand to benefit more and have less to fear than wealthier nations.
“Artificial intelligence has thrown a lifeline to developing economies, and they should seize it,” said World Bank Chief Economist Indermit Gill in a statement accompanying the report.
Companies around the world are spending billions to capitalize on the anticipated AI revolution, and governments are making every effort to ensure their countries can benefit from it.
For many companies and countries, the challenge will be building energy-intensive data centers and finding energy sources to power them. But Gill noted that developing economies do not need vast resources or specially designed complex language models to benefit from this.
“By adapting small, low-cost AI tools to local conditions, they can make better healthcare, education, legal services, and agricultural advice accessible to millions of people,” Gill said.
Healthcare workers will be able to use AI to speed up diagnoses, teachers to improve lesson plans, and farmers to determine what to plant and when.
The International Monetary Fund stated that, under favorable conditions, “artificial intelligence could boost the economies of sub-Saharan African countries by about 4% over the next decade”.
Jobs Are at Risk, but the Stakes Are High
According to the report, the likelihood that generative AI will threaten jobs in rich countries (where 14.2% of jobs are at risk) is three times higher than in low- and middle-income countries (where 4.5% of jobs are at risk).
The share of jobs expected to benefit from significant increases in labor productivity is also similar: 16.2% in developing countries and 18.7% in high-income countries.
The report states that governments need to improve access to electricity and the internet, raise digital literacy levels, and expand access to smartphones and computing devices.
However, it warned that AI could lead to “increased income inequality, more covert dissemination of disinformation, and political repression”.
However, according to the World Bank, the cost of missed opportunities will be very high.
“Today’s developing economies missed out on the first industrial revolution and paid the price for it over the next two centuries,” Gill said. “They cannot afford to miss out on this one, too”.
AI in Moldova
Small economies do not need to spend trillions of dollars on creating universal language models or supercomputers; it is enough to adapt inexpensive tools to local conditions. This is the essence of the so-called “Small AI” concept.
Based on this concept, the Ministry of Economic Development and Digitalization is developing the National Program on AI and Data Management for 2026–2030. According to experts, the concept of digitalization is being actively implemented in Moldova, and the country is strictly following the path outlined by the World Bank: from simply consuming AI technologies to creating its own solutions.
UNESCO reports note that Moldova has excellent basic digital infrastructure (high-speed internet, a well-developed IT sector). However, the country still lacks clear AI governance and domestic investment in its own developments to avoid becoming entirely dependent on foreign IT giants.
The Situation in Key Areas
The government has approved the launch of a unified Agricultural Knowledge and Innovation System (AKIS). The “Farmer Registry” will be operational by the end of 2026. These digital platforms use AI to help farmers with predictive analytics and crop optimization.
“For Moldova, AI is becoming a critically important tool due to climate change and droughts. Smart agronomy now relies not only on centuries-old knowledge but also on the possibilities offered by precise observations and calculations,” according to DroneAgro, a company that is actively introducing drones to farms in the country’s central and southern regions. AI systems process images from UAVs, create NDVI vegetation maps, and pinpoint outbreaks of disease or moisture deficits, thereby conserving water and chemicals.
AI is making deep inroads into the public sector and government services as part of the “Digital Transformation Strategy 2023–2030.” A bill has been drafted that officially authorizes government agencies to use AI to provide services to citizens, provided that human oversight is strictly maintained. Meanwhile, the EVO app integrates personal digital documents and data, laying the groundwork for algorithms that automatically process citizens’ requests.
As part of preparations for the 2030 census, authorities plan to use AI to cross-reference government registries and analyze satellite imagery of housing.
In the healthcare sector, the National Agency for Research and Development (ANCD) is actively engaging Moldovan clinics and institutions in European projects (for example, under the Horizon Europe program) to integrate AI and robotics into diagnostics.
According to experts at the Moldova Innovation Technology Park (MITP), AI is taking over routine tasks in the labor market but is creating job openings for specialists in neural network adaptation and the development of the IT sector.
