SINGAPORE — The technology that investors and governments are counting on to lift the global economy is also adding pressure that threatens growth, the head of the International Monetary Fund said, urging policymakers to stop delaying painful choices on debt.
Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva told the audience at a Wednesday event in Singapore that artificial intelligence is "rapidly becoming a key driver of countries' relative fortunes in the world economy."
But the triple forces of AI advancement, soaring energy costs and record public debt are challenging the already "underwhelming" growth this decade.
"Love it, hate it, or fear it, AI is here," Georgieva said.
Speaking ahead of a series of IMF and World Bank annual meetings that kick off next week, Georgieva framed the global economy as being tugged in two directions at once: a "negative energy supply shock" from the war in the Gulf, now in its eighth month, and a "positive demand shock" from the AI investment boom. The combined effect, she said, is "highly uneven across the world."