Millions of jobs across Asia could vanish as AI booms in wealthy nations while poorer countries struggle with basic digital access and literacy, United Nations (UN) economists warned. Just as industrialization in the 19th century split the world into a wealthy few and the impoverished many, the AI revolution threatens to do the same. Philip Schellekens, Chief Economist for the UN Development Programme (UNDP) in Asia and the Pacific, said countries investing in skills, computing power, and strong governance will benefit, but others risk getting left far behind.
A new UNDP report highlights that women and young workers face the biggest workplace threats from AI, with broader gains in health, education, and income potentially stalling. At the same time, the technology is expected to pump nearly $1 trillion in economic benefits across Asia over the next decade. While China, Singapore, and South Korea have poured money into AI and reaped huge rewards, entry-level workers in many South Asian countries face “significant exposure” to automation and other changes already underway.
Limited infrastructure, skills, computing power, and governance capacity are holding back potential benefits while amplifying risks like job displacement, data exclusion, and indirect impacts such as rising global energy and water demands from AI systems. Kanni Wignaraja, UN Assistant Secretary-General and UNDP Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific, said AI is racing ahead while many countries are still at the starting line. “The Asia and Pacific experience highlights how quickly gaps can emerge between those shaping AI and those being shaped by it,” she noted.
For countries like Cambodia, Papua New Guinea, and Vietnam, the priority isn’t developing cutting-edge AI but making use of simple voice-based tools that frontline health workers and farmers can operate even when the internet is down. The Asia-Pacific region holds more than 55 percent of the world’s population, putting it at the center of the AI transition. It hosts over half of global AI users and is rapidly expanding its innovation footprint—China alone holds nearly 70 percent of global AI patents, while six countries are home to more than 3,100 newly funded AI companies.
UNDP estimates AI could lift annual GDP growth in the region by around two percentage points and raise productivity by up to five percent in sectors like health and finance. But the gap is stark: Afghanistan’s average income is 200 times lower than Singapore’s, which partly explains why AI uptake is concentrated in so few wealthy countries today. Schellekens pointed out that the region is already the most unequal in the world. “We’re not starting from a level playing field,” he said, urging governments to consider the ethics of AI rollout and ensure it’s done as inclusively as possible to prevent a looming jobs crunch.
