A new report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has rated countries on their ability to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) into their economies, finding that the United States and the Netherlands lead the way, while countries like Afghanistan are lagging far behind.
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IMF's AI Readiness Index: U.S., Netherlands Lead, While Afghanistan Lags Far Behind
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**Washington, D.C.** - The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has released a new report rating countries on their preparedness to adopt artificial intelligence (AI) into their economies. The index measures a country's AI adoption preparedness through four key measures: digital infrastructure, human capital and labor market policies, innovation and economic integration, and regulation.
IMF's AI Readiness Index: U.S., Netherlands Lead, While Afghanistan Lags Far Behind
The index breaks countries into five brackets with a rating of 0 to 1, with a higher score representing more favorable AI preparedness. The United States and the Netherlands topped the chart with a .77 value of preparedness. Other highly-rated countries include Finland and Estonia with .76, New Zealand, Germany, and Sweden with .75, and Australia, Japan, and Israel with .73.
Taiwan, which is the leading producer of semiconductors and advanced microprocessors, surprisingly received a .67 rating. Rival nations in the West received worse ratings, with China at .64, Russia at .56, Iran at .38, and Venezuela at .27.
IMF's AI Readiness Index: U.S., Netherlands Lead, While Afghanistan Lags Far Behind
India, an industrial powerhouse and a country that has rapidly ascended the ranks of major economies, has a rating of .49. At the bottom end of the index, the countries least prepared to adopt AI were South Sudan with .11, Afghanistan with .13, the Central African Republic (CAR) with .18, and Somalia with .2.
The IMF warned that its data proved "challenging" to gather and synthesize, noting that "institutional requirements for economy-wide integration of AI are still uncertain." The IMF also noted that the data for some countries, such as Afghanistan, may have been skewed due to a lack of economic data.
IMF's AI Readiness Index: U.S., Netherlands Lead, While Afghanistan Lags Far Behind
The IMF's analysis suggests that countries with more advanced economies should look to expand social safety nets, invest in training workers, and prioritize AI innovation and integration. "Coordinating with one another globally, these countries also should strengthen regulation to protect people from potential risks and abuses and build trust in AI," the IMF said.
The policy priority for emerging market and developing economies, according to the IMF, should be to lay a strong foundation by investing in digital infrastructure and digital training for workers. The IMF's AI Readiness Index provides a valuable tool for policymakers to assess their countries' preparedness for AI adoption and to identify areas where further investment and policy development are needed.
