By: Nana
Appiah Acquaye
The World Bank Group has
launched its first Digital and AI Strategy and Implementation Plan, setting a
target of connecting one billion people to digital opportunities by 2030.
Sangbu Kim, the World Bank’s
Vice President for Digital and AI, announced the strategy at the Global AI and
Digital Summit in South Korea, highlighting the need to expand digital access,
make connectivity affordable and prepare developing countries to benefit from
artificial intelligence.
Kim said the initiative was
particularly important as 1.2 billion young people in developing countries are
expected to reach working age over the next 10 to 15 years, while their
economies are projected to create only 420 million jobs.
The strategy has four key
components: expanding access by bringing people online; making connectivity
affordable; ensuring digital services are useful; and building readiness for AI
through the skills and systems needed to use the technology effectively.
The plan aims to make
digital services more relevant to people's economic opportunities, including
helping farmers reach better markets and enabling businesses to qualify for
loans.
Trust and safety underpin
all four components of the strategy, according to Kim, who stressed that the
ultimate measure of success should be the opportunities digital technology
creates for people.
“Success is not the
technology. It is what people can do with it: learn, earn, build a business,
find a job,” he said.
Kim thanked the Government
of Korea for hosting the summit and acknowledged the partners involved in the
initiative. He said Korea demonstrates what sustained investment in people,
infrastructure and institutions can achieve.
Emphasising the relationship
between employment and digital inclusion, Kim said: “Jobs create dignity.
Digital access is how we open the door.”
