Asia-Pacific Region

According to a recent United Nations report, countries across the Asia-Pacific region face highly unequal starting points in terms of digital and economic readiness. These disparities are creating deep divides in the ability of nations to adopt and benefit from emerging technologies, particularly Artificial Intelligence (AI).

Artificial Intelligence Adoption: Global Trends

A new UNDP flagship report highlights that AI has witnessed one of the fastest technological adoptions in history, reaching 1.2 billion users within just three years. Nearly 70% of these users are based in developing countries, yet the overall distribution of AI adoption remains highly uneven.

While two-thirds of people in high-income countries already use AI tools, usage levels in many low-income economies remain close to just 5%, underscoring a widening digital divide.

Understanding the Divergence in AI Adoption

Artificial Intelligence has the potential to boost economic growth, improve public service delivery, expand opportunities, and strengthen societal resilience. However, without inclusive adoption, AI risks deepening inequalities, amplifying social exclusion, and weakening governance structures.

Countries that possess the right combination of digital connectivity, skilled human capital, computing capacity, and effective regulatory frameworks are likely to capture the majority of the AI-driven economic benefits. In contrast, countries lacking these foundations face risks such as job displacement, data exclusion, misinformation, and resource stress, especially due to the high energy and water demands of AI systems.

AI Adoption Across Asia-Pacific: Promise and Peril

AI and People

Across the Asia-Pacific region, AI is already delivering tangible social benefits. Bhutan is piloting AI-based tutors to personalize school education. Mongolia has used AI-driven credit scoring to disburse $70 million in micro-loans to nearly 4,000 small businesses. Viet Nam’s digital farming platforms provide real-time agricultural data to 39 million farmers, while AI-based flood forecasting systems in Northeast India have doubled prediction accuracy, helping save lives and property.

However, these advancements coexist with persistent inequalities. Around 1.6 billion people in the region cannot afford a healthy diet, 27 million youths remain illiterate, and women in South Asia are 40% less likely than men to own a smartphone. Additionally, rural and minority communities remain largely absent from datasets used to train AI models, limiting representation and fairness.

AI and the Economy

If deployed effectively, AI could raise global GDP growth by around 2 percentage points annually and increase productivity by up to 5%, particularly in sectors such as finance and healthcare. For instance, ASEAN economies could gain nearly $1 trillion in additional GDP over the next decade.

At the same time, AI-driven growth brings significant labor market disruptions. About 75% of firms expect job losses, even as new AI-related roles emerge. Female workers face twice the automation risk compared to male workers. High levels of informality further increase vulnerability, with 88% of jobs in India and 60% in Indonesia lacking formal protections.

AI and Governance

AI is transforming governance and public service delivery. Bangkok’s Traffy Fondue platform has efficiently processed 600,000 citizen reports. Singapore’s Moments of Life application has reduced paperwork for new parents from 120 minutes to just 15 minutes. Beijing’s digital twin systems enable real-time simulations of urban growth and flood risks.

Despite these gains, regulatory frameworks lag behind technological advances. Only a few countries have comprehensive AI laws, and many AI systems remain opaque “black boxes.” By 2027, nearly 40% of global AI-related data breaches could arise from the misuse of generative AI, highlighting serious governance and security challenges.

Gaps in AI Preparedness

The AI Preparedness Index, developed by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reveals stark disparities across the Asia-Pacific region. Advanced economies such as Singapore, South Korea, and China score above 70%, reflecting strong digital infrastructure, innovation ecosystems, and proactive regulation.

In contrast, fragile and low-income countries score below 20%, often lacking reliable electricity, data systems, and internet connectivity. These regional gaps are further compounded by within-country inequalities, where income and wealth remain concentrated among the top 10%, excluding large sections of the population from technological progress.

Way Forward: Building Inclusive AI Futures

Strengthening the Foundations

The UN report emphasizes that inclusive AI adoption requires both hard and soft foundations. Hard foundations include affordable and reliable internet access, clean and stable electricity, and adequate computing and cooling infrastructure. Soft foundations involve education and upskilling, effective public institutions, and robust legal and ethical frameworks to ensure fairness, privacy, and trust.

UNDP’s Call to Action

The UNDP calls for urgent global and national action to bridge the AI divide. Key recommendations include:

• Investing in digital infrastructure and connectivity

• Strengthening AI education and skill development

• Establishing ethical, transparent, and safety-oriented regulations

• Promoting energy-efficient and sustainable computing systems

• Enhancing regional and global cooperation on standards and open-source AI models