KOR
▲ IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva
International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said on the 12th (local time) that massive investments in artificial intelligence (AI) infrastructure are serving as a key driver propelling this year's global economic growth rate to around 3%, with major Asian hardware-supplying nations benefiting from the trend.
According to Reuters, Georgieva made the remarks during a speech at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings held in Bangkok, Thailand, stating, "The surge in AI investment is creating a powerful demand and investment shock."
She evaluated that "AI investment is generating a growth boost of 0.5 to 1.0 percentage points for advanced Asian economies and 0.2 to 0.8 percentage points for emerging Asian economies."
She emphasized, "The fact that global growth is able to maintain the 3% range even under downward pressure on the global economy from energy supply shocks (due to the Iran war, the Ukraine war, etc.) is thanks to the AI sector," adding, "AI is already here with us, whether we like it or not."
Georgieva did not explicitly mention South Korea in her speech that day.
However, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) raised its projection for South Korea's economic growth rate this year to 3.7% last month, lifting its forecast by 1.1 percentage points in three months.
At that time, the OECD projected that the spread of AI could act as an additional upward factor for the global economy in terms of investment and production.
In July, the IMF revised its projection for South Korea's real gross domestic product (GDP) growth rate this year to 2.6%.
This was an upward revision of 0.7 percentage points over three months compared to 1.9% in April.
The IMF's global economic growth forecast announced at that time was 3.0%.
The IMF is scheduled to release updated economic outlooks for South Korea and other countries around the world on October 13.
Comparing AI to a "slow-moving tsunami," Georgieva projected that AI will have a massive impact on jobs, growth, education, and tax revenues.
Georgieva explained that the IMF estimates that over the long term, 40% of jobs worldwide could have their tasks augmented, downgraded, or eliminated altogether due to AI.
In the case of the U.S. labor market, 10% of jobs already require AI skills, and a polarization phenomenon has been identified where routine tasks are decreasing while low-wage jobs in construction and data centers are actually increasing.
(Photo: AP, Yonhap News)
※ Please note: This article was translated by AI and may contain errors.
