OP-ED: UNIDO
Knowledge as the key input to productivity represents a rare opportunity that must be embraced By Jason Slater, Chief AI, Innovation and Digital Officer, UNIDO AI IS REVOLUTIONIZING THE DEVELOPING WORLD
I ndustrial revolutions have historically been the main engines of human development, breaking physical limits to
AI model can be used millions of times without proportionally more resources. Knowledge, rather than material, becomes the key input to productivity. Unlike past revolutions that expanded physical capacity, AI expands cognitive capacity – enabling prediction, optimization and decision making at scale. Yet technology alone does not generate transformation. Capability building, not just model deployment, determines whether AI becomes a development accelerator or a new divider. Implications for developing countries For developing countries, this is a rare opportunity. Where infrastructure and public services are scarce, AI can bypass traditional bottlenecks. By analyzing satellite imagery and sensor data, a single system can deliver tailored agricultural advice via text message
to millions of smallholder farmers. Similar approaches can optimize energy grids, improve logistics and enable predictive maintenance in mining and manufacturing. Intelligence can now travel where infrastructure cannot, allowing productivity to scale with data, connectivity and skills rather than only factories and machines. Yet this promise comes with real risks if left unmanaged. Some 2.2 billion people remain offline, mostly in the Global South, while a projected global shortage of 85 million digital workers by 2030 highlights a deep skills gap. Reliable digital and energy infrastructure, a skilled workforce and institutional capacity are essential. Without these foundations, AI will remain out of reach, or worse, create new forms of dependency where countries supply data but lack the capacity to turn it into value.
raise global standards of living. The First Industrial Revolution
transitioned production from manual labor to steam power, allowing millions to move beyond basic survival. The Second harnessed electricity and mass production to make essential goods – such as lighting, transport and tools – affordable and accessible for the first time. The Third introduced the computer and internet, shifting the global economy from analogue mechanics to digital electronics. Artificial intelligence (AI) marks a deeper break from that pattern. The Fourth Industrial Revolution, powered by AI and interconnected data, runs on digital intelligence that scales at near- zero marginal cost. Once developed, an
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