British News Agency

On Artificial Intelligence, Outlook shows that investments – and risks – are on the rise, but adoption is highly concentrated. For example, investment in generative Artificial Intelligence has grown from USD 1.3 billion in 2022 to USD 17.8 billion in 2023, while in parallel, there has been a 53-fold increase in generative AI incidents and hazards reported by reputable news outlets globally since late 2022.

AI adoption is concentrated in the information and communication technology (ICT) sector, where an average of 28% of ICT firms used AI in 2023 in the OECD, higher than any other sector. For the benefits of AI to be widely shared, diffusion rates must increase in different sectors.

“The Information and Communication Technology sector is a key driver of global growth. However, there are substantial differences between countries, with a gap of more than 10 percentage points between the economies with the highest and lowest average sector growth rates between 2013 and 2023. This first volume of the 2024 OECD Digital Economy Outlook provides new insights and data to help policymakers design effective policies to ensure we harness the extraordinary opportunities of digital technologies while managing the associated risks and disruptions”, OECD Secretary-General Mathias Cormann said added:

“Whereas technologies such as cloud computing and Internet of Things have diffused widely, adoption of data-dependent technologies, such as AI, remains low. For the benefits of AI to be more widely shared, as well as in support of sustainable, resilient, and inclusive growth, diffusion rates must increase into other sectors."