At the World Economic Forum on January 20, 2026, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stated that artificial intelligence (AI) is becoming a vital force for resilience and growth in today's global economy, yet its impact is highly uneven across different nations.

Georgieva pointed out that, from a global perspective, two key factors for enhancing the world economy's resilience and growth momentum are increasingly clear: the development of artificial intelligence and the sustained dynamism of the private sector over recent decades. "As states gradually withdraw from certain economic spheres, allowing private enterprises to play their full role, AI highly complements this trend, with the synergy between the two being significant."

To systematically assess countries' preparedness for the AI era, the IMF has constructed an "AI Preparedness Index," broadly categorizing nations into three groups: those driving AI's occurrence, those observing AI's occurrence, and those still puzzled about 'what exactly is happening.'

Regarding the specific evaluation framework, Georgieva indicated that the index focuses on four key dimensions: first, physical infrastructure; second, labor skills and capability structure; third, the diffusion and application level of AI—"If AI exists but fails to transform the economic structure, its significance is quite limited"; and fourth, the regulatory and ethical framework.

According to the latest rankings, only a very small number of countries occupy the top positions. She noted that in the current environment, the United States, Denmark, and Singapore rank in the top three. China possesses very significant AI capabilities, but due to its massive economic scale, it finds it difficult to break into the very top ranks of this index.

Among emerging markets, some countries demonstrate relative advantages. Georgieva specifically mentioned that both Saudi Arabia and India, due to strategic investments in relevant areas, are positioned in the "relatively high-level bracket." In contrast, low-income countries and a large number of middle-income countries lag significantly across all four dimensions.

"Overall, AI has genuinely entered the global economic system," she stated. "But my concern is that opportunities are being stretched apart like an accordion—highly concentrated in some regions, yet extremely scarce in others."

Discussing the impact on labor markets, Georgieva pointed out that the shock brought by AI is "quite severe." IMF calculations show that, on average, about 40% of jobs globally will be affected by AI, including being enhanced, reshaped, or replaced. In advanced economies, this proportion is as high as 60%; whereas in low-income countries, it is around 25% to 26%, again highlighting the highly divergent magnitude of the impact.

"My core message is: this is a tsunami sweeping through the labor market," Georgieva emphasized. "Even for the most prepared countries, I do not believe they are fully ready."