ITU official warns an AI 'opportunity divide' could deepen inequality between countries

Tomas Lamanauskas, deputy secretary-general of the International Telecommunication Union, warned that unequal access to AI could deepen the gap between richer and poorer countries, as reported by Al Jazeera on 25 October 2026. Al Jazeera says he spoke on the sidelines of the UN Conference on Trade and Development World Investment Forum in Doha on Sunday.

Al Jazeera reports that he said Africa and Latin America together account for 3.3 percent of global data-centre capacity, and that 2.2 billion people remain without internet access. It reports that he said bridging the digital infrastructure gap would require an estimated $2.8 trillion in investment by 2030. On use of the technology, Al Jazeera says he put generative-AI use among working-age people at approximately 29 percent in developed countries and 16 percent in developing nations. It says he noted that 104 countries now have AI strategies, compared with four a decade ago.

Al Jazeera says he cited estimates that the technology could displace 90 million jobs and also create 170 million, and that an estimated 40 percent of workplace skills could change by 2030. It says he said only seven percent of African languages are represented in AI translation tools. The article does not name the source of the jobs estimates. He called for investment in digital infrastructure, education and regulation. This is an official's warning. It is not a UN decision or a new rule.

What it means for business: no new duty. Firms selling AI tools or building data centres may see governments in countries with less infrastructure treat access, language coverage and local capacity as policy questions.