World Development Report 2026: Navigating AI’s Opportunities and Risks in Developing Economies

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. AI is transforming economies, societies, and public services at a pace unprecedented in previous technological revolutions. It has the potential to expand access to knowledge and expertise, increase productivity, improve service delivery, and help countries address pressing development challenges. At the same time, realizing these benefits will require policies that ensure that the gains from AI are widely shared and that the risks are safeguarded against. In this fireside chat, Indermit Gill, Former Chief Economist and Senior Vice President of the World Bank Group, and Somik V. Lall, Director of Strategy, Office of the World Bank Group Chief Economist, discuss some of these policies that developing countries will need to put in place to realize the benefits of AI. This event is sponsored by the World Bank Group, Stanford Leadership Institute, Stanford Digital Economy Lab, and Stanford King Center on Global Development. The full program and additional links are available here: https://www.gsb.stanford.edu/events/world-development-report-2026-promise-artificial-intelligence