Strong investment in AI infrastructure is keeping global growth at around 3%, yielding major benefits for many Asian economies that supply the hardware, such as Thailand, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on Monday. The artificial intelligence investment boom was already delivering a "demand shock, an investment shock" that could boost growth in advanced Asian economies by a half to one full percentage point, and emerging Asian economies by 0.2 to 0.8 percentage point, she said.
"AI, love it, hate it. It's already here," Georgieva said.
"That shift into higher gear is what is keeping the world economy growing at around 3%, despite the fact we are being dragged down by the energy supply shock," she told hundreds of participants on the first day of a weeklong set of meetings of the IMF and World Bank in the Thai capital.
The IMF in July forecast global growth at 3% in 2026. It will release an updated outlook on Tuesday.
Some 18,000 people are expected to attend the meetings this week, including finance officials from the IMF's 191 members. Several ministers will skip the meeting to focus on domestic priorities, including US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Spanish Finance Minister Arcadi España, sources familiar with the matter said.
Georgieva said AI amounted to a "slow-moving tsunami" that would have profound consequences for jobs, growth, education and even how governments generate revenue through taxation, given the expected shift from labor to capital. The IMF estimates that AI could lead to 40% of jobs being augmented, downgraded, or eliminated over time, she said.
World Bank President Ajay Banga said the development bank was focused on leveraging "small AI," which is not dependent on large language models, to generate enormous productivity gains for farmers, healthcare systems, educators and others in emerging markets. Singapore's President Tharman Shanmugaratnam warned that governments must address how AI is reducing job opportunities for graduates, noting that the first rung of employment is seeing less demand.
The global economic landscape remains fragile, yet the technological integration of AI serves as a critical buffer. As nations navigate the transition, the focus remains on balancing innovation with social stability.
The upcoming IMF reports are expected to provide further clarity on how these digital shifts will influence fiscal policies across the globe in the coming decade.