At the 2026 Bund Summit, World Bank Managing Director Zhang Wencai said AI can expand financial inclusion if properly designed, lowering costs for small customers and enabling services in local languages. He stressed the importance of global AI governance cooperation, noting that only 11% of emerging-market financial regulators use AI tools, and called for jointly developed standards so developing countries are not passive recipients.
At the IMF/World Bank annual meeting, Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark said rapid AI progress could boost US economic output by nearly 50% by 2030, urged international cooperation and strict rules, warned of AI research misuse and biosecurity risks, and noted Anthropic is preparing a November IPO at a valuation of up to $2 trillion.
At an IMF roundtable titled "AI and the Global Economy: From Risk to Opportunity," Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark compared rapid AI development to a brakeless F1 car at night, noted AI is less regulated than baby toys, and proposed a "test once, mutually recognized" cross-border regulatory framework. IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva, Addo co-founder Ayesha Khanna, and Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem also shared views on regulatory gaps, job mismatches, and skills training.
At the IMF/World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok, U.S. Treasury Under Secretary Erin Browne said "Super Intelligence" (SI) more accurately describes the emerging technology than "AI." The U.S. directed federal agencies to adopt the term in September 2026, prioritizes promoting it, and seeks to include it in an IMFC consensus statement while leveraging its G20 presidency for broader international adoption.
IMF Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva said at the IMF-World Bank annual meetings in Bangkok that strong investment in AI infrastructure is keeping global growth around 3%, with Asian economies benefiting from supplying hardware. She said the AI investment boom could boost growth in advanced Asian economies by 0.5-1 percentage point and in emerging Asian economies by 0.2-0.8 percentage point. She compared AI to a slow-moving tsunami that will deeply affect jobs, growth, education and taxation, estimating that about 40% of jobs could be replaced, downgraded or eliminated.
The World Bank released its new East Asia and Pacific Economic Update on October 6, stating that rapid AI development will drive faster-than-expected 2026 growth in several economies through high-tech manufacturing and exports. The report noted regional AI adoption is rising but still lags advanced economies, with firms facing high costs, talent shortages, and security/privacy challenges, while AI is reshaping skill demands.