At the 2026 IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings in Bangkok, Thailand, Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva warned that Artificial Intelligence could alter about 40 percent of jobs worldwide, describing the technology’s effect as a “slow‑moving tsunami.”
Georgieva said IMF projections show AI could affect 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies, compared with 23 percent in low‑income countries, a gap she attributed to differing levels of AI adoption rather than a lower risk for poorer workers.
She highlighted that spending on data centres and AI model development is already boosting global growth at roughly three percent, even as energy supplies face disruptions. Broader adoption, she noted, will determine how many countries can reap the technology’s economic benefits.
Developing economies, she stressed, will need reliable electricity, digital infrastructure, relevant workforce skills and robust safeguards to support responsible AI use. In the United States, an IMF study found about 10 percent of jobs already require advanced AI skills, typically offering higher wages, while routine roles decline as new opportunities emerge in data‑centre construction and related services.
Georgieva warned that young jobseekers are especially vulnerable, as traditional entry‑level positions that provide experience and career progression are under pressure. She called for closer monitoring of employment trends, education reforms that promote continuous learning, and a review of tax systems as AI reshapes the labour‑capital relationship.
She cautioned that a shift away from labour could weaken public revenues and limit governments’ capacity to support affected workers, yet affirmed that AI should ultimately improve productivity and living standards. “Get AI to do all the stuff we don’t want to do and let us enjoy the things we love to do,” she added.
