UNITEDNATIONSCONFERENCEONTRADEANDDEVELOPMENT

OVERVIEW

2025

TechnologyandInnovationReport

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

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Geneva,2025

?2025,UnitedNations

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UnitedNationspublicationissuedbytheUnitedNations

ConferenceonTradeandDevelopment

UNCTAD/TIR/2025(Overview)

Content

ForewordPageiv

IntroductionPagevii

Page7

LeveragingAIfor

productivityand

workers’empowerment

Page11

PreparingtoseizeAIopportunities

Page1

AIatthetechnologyfrontier

Page23

Globalcollaborationforinclusiveand

equitableAI

Page17

DesigningnationalpoliciesforAI

iii

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

?2024_UNCTAD

Foreword

Frontiertechnologies,particularlyartificialintelligence,arereshapingthefunctioningofeconomiesandsocieties.However,theirrapidandwidespreaddiffusionisoftenoutpacingtheabilityofmanyGovernmentstorespond.TheTechnologyandInnovationReport2025:InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopmentsurveysthecomplexartificialintelligencelandscape,aimingtohelpdecisionmakersdesignscience,technologyandinnovationpoliciesthatfosterinclusivetechnologicalprogress.

TheuseofartificialintelligencehasthepotentialtoaccelerateprogresstowardsachievingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals,butifunevenlydistributedandnotguidedbyethicaloversightandtransparency,itsdiffusioncanexacerbateexistinginequalities.Thereportanalysestherequirementsandpoliciesneededatallstages,fromdevelopmenttoadoption,tofosterinclusivetechnologicalprogressforsustainabledevelopment.

Thisrequiresamultidimensionalandevidence-basedapproach.Forthispurpose,threekeyleveragepoints–infrastructure,dataandskills–areidentified,offeringabroadsocioeconomicperspectiveandhighlightingtheneedtobuildresilientinfrastructureandpromoteinclusiveandsustainableindustrializationandinnovation.

iv

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Thereportstartsbydocumentingthesignificantconcentrationinartificialintelligencedevelopmentinafewcompaniesandcountriesandidentifiesextensivegapsindigitalinfrastructurethatriskwideninginequalitiesbothwithinandamongcountries.Thenitexploresproductivityandworkforcedynamicsfocusingoneconomicgrowthanddecentwork.Fromanationalperspective,thereportanalysestherequirementsandpoliciesneededtosupportadoption,adaptationanddevelopmentofartificialintelligence.Fromaninternationalperspective,itconsiderstheneedforglobalartificialintelligencegovernancetosteerartificialintelligencetowardsinclusiveandequitabledevelopment,emphasizingtheimportanceofinternationalcollaboration.

Historyhasshownthatwhiletechnologicalprogressdriveseconomicgrowth,itdoesnotonitsownensureequitableincomedistributionorpromoteinclusivehumandevelopment.Strongerinternationalcooperationcanshiftthefocusfromtechnologytopeople,enablingcountriestoco-createaglobalartificialintelligenceframework.Suchaframeworkshouldprioritizesharedprosperity,createpublicgoodsandplacehumanityattheheartofartificialintelligencedevelopment.

RebecaGrynspan

Secretary-GeneralofUNCTAD

v

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AIisreshaping

economies

andsocieties

–willitdrive sustainable progressordeepenexistinginequalities?

Globalcollaboration iskeytoensuringthat thebenefits ofAIreach everyone, shiftingthe focusfrom technologytopeople

Steeringartificialintelligencetowardssharedprosperity

Frontiertechnologies,particularlyartificialintelligence(AI),areprofoundlytransformingoureconomiesandsocieties,reshapingproductionprocesses,labourmarketsandthewaysinwhichweliveandinteract.WillAIaccelerateprogresstowardstheSustainableDevelopmentGoals,orwillitexacerbateexistinginequalities,leavingtheunderprivilegedfurtherbehind?HowcandevelopingcountriesharnessAIforsustainabledevelopment?

AIisthefirsttechnologyinhistorythatcanmakedecisionsandgenerateideasonitsown.Thissetsitapartfromtraditionaltechnologiesandchallengesthenotionoftechnologicalneutrality.TherapiddevelopmentofAIhasalsooutpacedtheabilityofGovernmentstorespondeffectively.TheTechnologyandInnovationReport2025aimstoguidepolicymakersthroughthecomplexAIlandscapeandsupportthemindesigningscience,technologyandinnovation(STI)policiesthatfosterinclusiveandequitabletechnologicalprogress.

Theworldalreadyhassignificantdigitaldivides,andwiththeriseofAI,thesecouldwidenevenfurther.Inresponse,theReportarguesforAIdevelopmentbasedoninclusionandequity,shiftingthefocusfromtechnologytopeople.AItechnologiesshouldcomplementratherthandisplacehumanworkersandproductionshouldberestructuredsothatthebenefitsaresharedfairlyamongcountries,firmsandworkers.Itisalsoimportanttostrengtheninternationalcollaboration,toenablecountriestoco-createinclusiveAIgovernance.

TheReportexaminesfivecorethemes:

AAIatthetechnologicalfrontier

BLeveragingAIforproductivityandworkers’empowerment

CPreparingtoseizeAIopportunities

DDesigningnationalpoliciesforAI

EGlobalcollaborationforinclusiveandequitableAI

vii

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1

AIatthetechnologyfrontier

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TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

In2023,frontiertechnologiesrepresenteda$2.5trillionmarketanditisestimatedthatthisfigurewillincreasesixfold,to$16.4trillion,inthenextdecade(figure1).By2033,AIislikelytobethefrontiertechnologythathasthelargestmarketsize,ataround$4.8trillion.ContinuousbreakthroughsaremakingAImorepowerfulandefficient,favouringitsadoptioninmanysectorsandbusinessfunctions,includingcontentcreation,productdevelopment,automatedcodingandpersonalizedcustomerservice.

Figure1

Rapidexpansionoffrontiertechnologies

(Marketsizeestimates,billionsofdollars)

AIIoTBigdataBlockchaintechnology5G3DPrintingRobotics

DronetechnologySolarPVConcentratedsolarpowerBiofuelsBiogasandbiomassWindenergyGreenhydrogenElectricvehiclesNanotechnologyGeneediting

138Electricvehicles

189

AI

925

IoT

2023

2.5trillion

Electric

vehicles

2033

16.4trillion

4772

AI

5G

BlockchainIoT

Source:UNCTADbasedonvariousonlinemarketresearchreports.

Note:Marketsizedatacapturetherevenuegeneratedbythesalesofproductsandservices.

Theleadingfrontiertechnologyprovidersarenowamongthelargestcorporationsintheworldbymarketcapitalization.Apple,NvidiaandMicrosofteachhavecapitalizationsofmorethan$3trillion,closetothegrossdomesticproduct(GDP)oftheAfricancontinent,orthatoftheUnitedKingdomofGreatBritainandNorthernIreland,theworld’ssixthlargesteconomy.1ThetopfivecompaniesarefromtheUnitedStatesofAmerica,andthreeleadingchipmakers–Nvidia,BroadcomandTSMC2–areamongtheworld’stopten;almostallarefocusedonfrontiertechnologiesandareinvestingheavilyinAI(figure2).

1GDPisaflowvariableandmarketcapitalizationisastockvariable;thepresentcomparisonisforillustrativepurposesonly,tohighlightthesignificantmarketsizeofleadingtechnologycompanies.

2NvidiaandBroadcom,UnitedStates;TSMC,TaiwanProvinceofChina.

2

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Figure2

Marketdominanceoftechnologygiants

Top10listedcompaniesintheworldbymarketcapitalization(Trillionsofdollars)

Apple

NvidiaMicrosoft

Alphabet(Google)Amazon

SaudiAramco

MetaPlatforms(Facebook) TeslaBroadcomTSMC

3.86

3.363.2

2.372.35

1.81

1.51

1.39

1.13

1.05

Source:UNCTAD,basedondatafromCompaniesMarketCap.

Note:Therankingshowsthemostvaluablelistedcompaniesworldwide,asatend-2024.

Thereisalsoasignificantconcentrationofresearchanddevelopment(R&D)investment.In2022,40percentofbusiness-fundedR&Dworldwidewascarriedoutbyonly100companies,ofwhicharoundhalfwereheadquarteredintheUnitedStates,ledbyAlphabet,Meta,MicrosoftandApple.Around13percentwereheadquarteredinChina,ledbyHuaweiandTencent,upfrom2percent10yearsbeforeandovertakingtraditionalR&DleaderssuchasGermany,Japan,theRepublicofKorea,SwitzerlandandtheUnitedKingdom(figure3).OtherthanChina,noneofthetop100corporateR&Dinvestorsarefromdevelopingcountries.Marketdominance,atboththecorporateandnationallevels,riskswideningglobaltechnologicaldivides,makingitevenmoredifficultforlatecomerstocatchup.

Similarly,thereisasignificantAIdividebetweendevelopedanddevelopingcountries.Withregardtoinfrastructure,forexample,theUnitedStateshasaroundonethirdofthetop500supercomputersandmorethanhalfoftheoverallcomputationalperformance.MostdatacentresarealsolocatedintheUnitedStates.ApartfromBrazil,China,IndiaandtheRussianFederation,developingcountrieshavelimitedcapacitiesinAIinfrastructure,whichhinderstheirabilitytoadoptanddevelopAI.AnAIdivideisalsoevidentintermsofservicesproviders,investmentandknowledgecreation.

3

Market

dominancemaywiden

technologicaldivides,

makingitdifficultforlatecomerstocatchup

AwideAI

divideexists

between

developedand

developingcountries

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

UnitedKingdom

AIholdsgreat potentialfordevelopmentbutalsorisks

–informed leadership iskeyto harnessingAIforsustainable andinclusivedevelopment

Figure3

Significantconcentrationofresearchanddevelopmentinafewcountries

(Shareofinvestmentbyglobaltop100corporateR&Dinvestors,bycountry;percentage)20222012

UnitedStates

ofAmerica

49

39

China

13

2

Germany

12

11

Japan

8

20

RepublicofKorea

4

4

Switzerland

4

6

3

3

Source:The2023EUIndustrialR&DInvestmentScoreboard(JointResearchCentre,2023).

Asageneral-purposetechnology,AIinteractswithothertechnologiesandistransformingthewayresearchandinnovationareconducted,withawiderangeofapplicationsacrossvariousactivities.AIofferssignificantopportunitiesforbusinessesandcountriestogrowandtoprogresstowardsachievingtheSustainableDevelopmentGoals.However,italsopresentsvariousrisksandethicalconcerns.DecisionmakersneedtoknowmoreaboutAIiftheyaretonavigateitspromisesandperilsforsustainableandinclusivedevelopment.

TheexperienceofrecentdecadesindicatesthatAI-driventransformationsinvolvethreekeyleveragepoints–infrastructure,dataandskills(figure4).

(a)InfrastructurerequirementsextendbeyondbasicaccesstoelectricityandtheInternet,encompassingcomputingpowerandservercapabilities,toprocessdata,runalgorithmsandexecutemodels.

(b)Dataaretheprimaryinputforthetraining,validationandtestingofalgorithms,enablingAIsystemstoclassifyinputs,generateoutputsandmakepredictions.High-quality,diverseandunbiaseddataareessentialforbuildingeffectiveandtrustworthyAIsystems.

(c)Skillsspanawidespectrum,frombasicdataliteracytoadvancedtechnicalexpertiseindevelopingalgorithmsandfromproficiencyindataanalysistointegratingdomainknowledgefortacklingcomplexproblems.

4

Infrastructure

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

TheinterplayofandsynergiesamongthesethreekeyleveragepointscanaccelerateadvancesinAI.Thesearediscussedinthereportasawayofconnectingtheevidenceandframingitspolicyrecommendations.

Figure4

SynergiesamongthreekeyleveragepointscanaccelerateAIprogress

Datatooptimizetheuseofinfrastructure

Algorithmstooptimizetheuseofcomputationalpower

Infrastructuretosupporttheprocessingandstorageofcomplexdatasets

AI

InfrastructuretoenabletheoperationofAImodelsandapplications

Data

DatatotrainAImodels

Algorithmsto

extractthemost

fromdata

Skills

Therapid

progressof

AIisdriven

bythreekeyleverage

points–

infrastructure,data,and

skills–thatcancatalysecontinuousinnovation

Source:UNCTAD.

Thenextindustrialrevolutioncanbringamoreinclusive

futurethrough

human–machine

collaboration,

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sustainabilityandpersonalization–ifcarefullydirected

POLICYFOCUS

Frontier technologiescoulderodethe comparative advantageoflowlabourcosts indevelopingcountries

Servingbothprivateandpublicinterests–Leadingtechnologycompaniesaregainingcontroloverthefutureoftechnology,andtheircommercialmotivesdonotalwaysalignwiththepublicinterest.Governmentsneedtoexplorepoliciesandregulationsthatcanincentivizeandguidetechnologicaldevelopmentalongpathsthatpromoteinclusivityandbenefitall.

Augmentinghumancapabilities–Frontiertechnologiesarecapital-intensiveandcouldbelabour-saving.Formanydevelopingcountries,thiscoulderodetheircomparativeadvantageoflowlabourcosts,puttingatriskthegainsofrecentdecades.Withappropriatepolicies,however,AIcanaugmentratherthansubstitutehumancapabilitiesandhelpsustainthecompetitivenessofdevelopingcountries.

Threekeyleveragepoints–Threekeyleverage

pointsthatcouldcatalysetransformationalcascades

forAIareinfrastructure,dataandskills.Theseprovide

thebasisforassessingacountry’spreparednessforAI,

developingeffectiveindustrialandinnovationpoliciesand

strengtheningglobalAIgovernanceandcollaboration.

6

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2

LeveragingAIforproductivityandworkers’empowerment

7

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Unlikeprevious technologies, AIhasthe potentialto transformawiderangeofcognitivetasksoncereserved forhighlyskilledworkers

Unlikeprevioustechnologicalwavesthatprimarilyautomatedroutineandlow-skillfunctions,theuseofAIcantransformawiderangeoftasks,includingcognitivetasksonceconsideredexclusivetohighlyskilledworkers.GenerativeAI(GenAI),forexample,cangeneratetexts,produceimagesandvideos,writecomputercodeandidentifycomplexpatternsindataforknowledge-basedservices.

ResearchtodatesuggeststhatfirmsusingAIcanmakesubstantialproductivitygains,particularlythoseemployingskilledworkersandthoseinserviceindustries(figure5).However,therangeofproductivityestimatesvariesconsiderably,reflectingthedifferingcapacitiesoffirmstoleverageAIeffectively.Inaddition,muchoftheexistingliteraturefocusesonearlyadoptersfromdevelopedcountries,forwhichthereismoredetailedfirm-leveldata.Whethersimilarproductivitygainsapplytolatecomers,particularlyindevelopingcountries,remainstobeascertained.

Figure5

UseofAIcanimproveafirm’slabourproductivity

(Changeinproductivity,percentage)

30

20

10

0

-10

-20

-30

Calvinoetal.,

2023a-

Songetal.,

2023-

AIadopters

Songetal.,

2023-

Multiplant

AIadopters

Czarnitizki

etal.,2023

Alderucci

etal.,2020

Damioli

etal.,2021

Calvinoetal.,

2023a-

AllAIusers

Babina

etal.,2024

Acemogluetal.,2022

AIdevelopers

AdvancedeconomiesaremoreexposedtoAIbut

havegreater potential toleverage itsbenefits, withGenAIofferingmoreopportunities forlabouraugmentation

Source:UNCTAD(seebibliographyinthereport).

Note:Datapointsaretheestimatedaverageeffectsfromlistedarticles,displayedaspercentagechangesthroughlog-approximation;thetailsrepresentthe95percentconfidenceintervals.

TheuseofAIhasthepotentialtoimpact40percentofglobalemployment.Inadvancedeconomies,onethirdofjobsarevulnerabletoAIautomation,whilearound27percenthavethepotentialforAIaugmentation,thatis,enhancinghumancapabilitiesratherthanreplacingthem.Workforcesinadvancedeconomiesareatgreaterrisk,asmoreoftheirjobsinvolvecognitivetasks.Nevertheless,theyarealsobetterpositionedthanemergingandlow-incomeeconomiestoharnessthebenefitsofAI(figure6).AsimilarpictureemergeswhenconsideringtheimpactofGenAI.However,GenAImightoffergreaterpotentialforlabouraugmentationthanautomation,particularlyinlow-andmiddle-incomecountries.

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InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Figure6

DevelopedcountrieshavegreaterlikelihoodsofAIautomationbutalsogreateropportunitiesforaugmentation

(EmploymentshareexposedtoAI,bycountrygrouping;percentage)

(a)EmploymentsharebyAIexposure(b)EmploymentsharebyGenAIexposure

Low-incomeeconomies

Low-incomecountries

8

18

Emergingeconomies

High-incomecountries

16

24

Advanced

economies

27

33

11.4

0.4

Middle-incomecountries

13.7

1.8

13.2

5.5

Exposuretoaugmentation

Exposuretoautomation

Source:UNCTADcalculations,basedonCazzanigaetal.,2024andGymreketal.,2023(seebibliographyinthereport).

Note:Datafrom125countriesinpanel(a)andfrom59countriesinpanel(b);middle-incomecountriesaretheaverageofuppermiddle-incomecountriesandlowermiddle-incomecountries,weightedbythenumberofcountriesinthesample.

Ifthehistoryofpreviousgeneral-purposetechnologiesisanyindication,itmaytakeyearsorevendecadesforthefullextentofAI-relatedimpactstomaterialize.ItwillalsotaketimetobuildcomplementaryassetsinAIinfrastructure,dataandskills.AI-relatedcasestudiesinagriculture,manufacturingandhealthcare,inwhichtheuseofAIenhancedproductivityandhumanwelfare,aresummarizedintable1,illustratinghowchallengesrelatedtoinfrastructure,dataandskillscanbeovercomethroughcarefulimplementationandcollaborationamongstakeholders.

Table1

CasestudiesofAIadoptionindevelopingcountries

ThefullimpactofAImaytakemanyyears

tomaterialize,andthelong-termeconomicoutcome

remainshighlyuncertain

Sector

AIapplication

Casestudy

Agriculture

PestanddiseasecontrolYieldprediction

Precisionirrigation

TumainiandMkulimaGPT

BeijingNormalUniversityandSouthChinaAgricultureUniversity

iFarming

Manufacturing

ProductionautomationPredictivemaintenanceSmartfactories

SmartweldingrobotVestelElectronics

TataSteelandUnilever

Healthcare

Improvingdiagnoses

Extendinghealth-carecoverage

Pandemicmanagementandcontrol

UbenwaandAI-assistedportableX-raymachinemMitraandmDaktari

Refugeepopulationmodelling

Source:UNCTAD.

TheuseofAIcanleadtoproductivitygainsandincreasetheincomeofsomeworkers,butitmayleadtojoblossesforothers,reshapingworkplacedynamicsandlabourdemand.Todate,technologicaladvanceshavetendedtodriveautomation,shiftingvaluetowardscapital.However,ifsupportedbyeffectivepoliciesandstrategicimplementation,theuseofAIofferssignificantpotentialforaugmentingworkercapabilities.

9

POLICYFOCUS

Adapting solutions tolocal infrastructure, usingnewdata,reducing skillbarriers andforming strategic partnershipscanspeedup AIadoption indevelopingcountries

InclusiveAI focuseson empowering workers, reskillingfornewrolesandinvolvingthem indesigning AItoolsthat preserve meaningfulwork

Complexworkforcedynamics–TheimpactofAIonworkplacesdependsonacomplexinterplayofautomation,augmentationandthecreationofnewroles.Policymakersshouldunderstandthesedynamics,toensuretheequitabledistributionofthebenefitsofAIandtosupportsmoothworkforcetransitions.

Strategiesforacceleration–AdoptionofAIindevelopingcountriescanbeacceleratedbyredesigningAIsolutionsaroundlocallyavailableinfrastructure;utilizingandcombiningnewsourcesofdata;loweringskillbarriersforAIwithsimpleinterfaces;andbuildingstrategicpartnerships,toaccessessentialresourcesforAI.

Involvingandempoweringworkers–InclusiveAIrequiresastrongemphasisonworkersandtheirprofessionalgrowth.Thisincludesempoweringthemwithdigitalliteracy,supportingthosetransitingtonewjobswithreskillingtrainingandenhancingoverallcapabilitiesthroughupskillingprogrammes.WorkersshouldalsobeinvolvedinthedesignandimplementationofAItoolsthatpreservemeaningfulhumanroles.

Financialdrivers–R&Dfunding,strategicpublicprocurementandtargetedtaxincentivescanbeusedtopromotehuman-complementaryAItechnologies.Improvinglabourmarketopportunitiesandestablishingclearcareerdevelopmentpathwayscanmitigatetheriskofbraindrain.

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3

PreparingtoseizeAIopportunities

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TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

TheUNCTAD frontier technologiesreadinessindex helpsassess countries, preparedness throughkeyindicators

DevelopingcountriesshouldprepareforaworldthatisrapidlybeingreshapedbyAIandotherfrontiertechnologies.Toassessthepotentialforprogress,UNCTADhasdevisedthefrontiertechnologiesreadinessindex,whichcombinesindicatorsforinformationandcommunicationstechnology(ICT)deployment,skills,R&Dactivity,industrialcapacityandaccesstofinance,toofferacomprehensivemeasureofacountry’spreparednessforfrontiertechnologies.TheindexrankingsaredominatedbydevelopedcountriesinEuropeandNorthAmerica(table2).DevelopingcountriesaregenerallylowerintherankingsbutSingaporestandsoutinfifthpositionandperformswellacrossallthedimensions.TheeconomiesofBrazil,theRussianFederation,India,ChinaandSouthAfrica(BRICS),alsohavegoodrankingpositions,notablyChina,at21;theRussianFederation,at33;India,at36;Brazil,at38;andSouthAfrica,at52.

Table2

Developedcountriesarebetterpreparedforfrontiertechnologies

Readinessforfrontiertechnologies,selectedcountries

Rankin2022

IndustryFinancerankingranking

ICT

ranking

Skills

ranking

Movement

inrank

R&D

ranking

Countryname

Rankin2024

Top10

UnitedStates

1

1

=

4

17

2

17

2

Sweden

2

2

=

17

2

15

7

14

UnitedKingdom

3

3

=

18

12

6

14

17

Netherlands

(Kingdomofthe)

4

5

↑

3

6

13

11

31

Singapore

5

4

↓

12

5

20

4

11

Switzerland

6

6

=

25

14

11

3

7

RepublicofKorea

7

9

↑

14

32

4

13

5

Germany

8

7

↓

26

18

5

12

34

Ireland

9

12

↑

27

11

28

1

116

France

10

14

↑

7

21

8

24

19

Selectedeconomies

China

21

28

↑

101

64

1

6

3

Russian

Federation

33

33

=

41

29

17

72

63

India

36

48

↑

99

113

3

10

70

Brazil

38

40

↑

38

59

18

50

41

SouthAfrica

52

51

↓

76

71

41

55

27

Source:UNCTAD.

ItmightbeexpectedthatcountrieswithhigherpercapitaGDPwouldbebetterpreparedforfrontiertechnologies.Overall,thissituationisobservedbut,asshowninfigure7,somecountriesperformfarbetterthantheirlevelsofincomewouldsuggest,signifyingstrongpotentialtoseizetheopportunitiesofferedbyfrontiertechnologies,toboosteconomicgrowthanddevelopment.

12

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Acommonfeatureofthebetter-performingcountriesisgreaterR&Dactivityandstrongerindustrycapacities,whichenablethemtokeeppacewithtechnologicaldevelopmentandeventuallytaketheleadinsomefrontiertechnologies.Thishighlightstheimportanceofmakingeffortstoimproveanationalinnovationecosystem.

Figure7

Brazil,China,IndiaandthePhilippinesaredevelopingcountriesoutperformingintechnologyreadiness

1.0

0.8

0.6

0.4

0.2

0.0

(CorrelationbetweenfrontiertechnologiesreadinessindexscoreandGDPpercapita)

Indexscore

United

SwedenKingdom\

Un

/●

itedStates

y=0.4296xR2-0

-1,3073795

Republico

China

●

fKorea

Philippi

India

Brazil

nes

●

●

GDPpercapita,PPP

3.03.54.04.55.0

Source:UNCTAD.

Note:GDPpercapitaisincurrentinternationaldollars,purchasingpowerparity.

Thefrontiertechnologiesreadinessindexcanbecomplementedwithadetailedassessmentofacountry’spreparednessforAIadoptionanddevelopment,whichdependscriticallyonthreeleveragepoints:infrastructure,dataandskills.Countriescanbeconsideredunderfourcategoriesaccordingtoadoptionanddevelopmentcapacities,asshowninthefourquadrantsinfigure8.Thislocatesacountry’scurrentposition,illustratingitsrelativestrengthsandweaknesses,aswellasitspotentialcatch-uptrajectories(e.g.fromlaggardstopractitioners,thentoleaders).

13

Some

countries

performbetterthanexpectedattheirincomelevelsduetoR&Dactivity

andindustrycapacity,

underscoringtheneed

toenhanceinnovationecosystems

TechnologyandInnovationReport2025

InclusiveArtificialIntelligenceforDevelopment

Overview

Figure8

ClassificationofcountriesaccordingtotheircapacityforAIadoptionanddevelopment

AIadoptioncapacity

Practitioners