The gap in wealth distribution that on the one hand at present most of the rich 1% of the global population own more than the 95% who belong to the lowest income groups is not only frightening but got increasingly worse. On the edge of a revolutionary breakthrough that would be possible owing to artificial intelligence, the phrase made by the founder of the World Economic Forum, Klaus Schwab, sounds very relevant. This is a social revolution that can either uplift humanity or divide it. As we navigate this transformative era, the question arises: “Can AI Solve Economic Inequality?” AI and digital inclusion are becoming uniting servants to the power of guns that promote or produce imbalance.
Increasing urban penetration into the world of digital technology will open the door to increased productivity, innovations, and new employment with more people. Among a great number of humans, digital technologies have become a part of nearly each sphere of life: in communication, in the labor process, in shopping, learning, or having fun. However, almost 2.6 billion individuals, or a third of the population of the world, lack the internet. This makes them not fit, and thus not able to enjoy the benefits of AI that comes with it. The digital technology should become a bridge and not a barricade.
Uneven prosperity, uneven disruption
It should give voice to every voice and give power to every community. From the discovery of drugs in healthcare, to the detection of fraud in the financial system, the monitoring of crops in fields, or self-driving car, AI could be used to assist humans in solving some of their most pressing issues. Nevertheless, the ethically questionable dilemmas and social safety concerns and rising gap between inequality are associated with the technology that cannot be denied by innovations. What this requires is that we work towards construction of accessible digital economy in order to realize.
The synergistic potential of artificial intelligence and digital inclusion. Digital inclusion is a productivity, innovation and new job growth technology driver in the digital technology sector. An inclusive economy aided by Digital will be a growth driver. The data provided by the World Bank approximates that a rise in broadband penetration by 10 percent can enhance growth of GDP in developing economies by 1.4 percent. Development of universal access to digital infrastructure, and affordable technologies must be the focus of public policies. According to World Bank research.
Policy priorities for the AI era
In a digitalized economy, there is a possibility to raise the chances of a person to get a job by up to 13.2 percent; employment per firm rises by approximately 22 percent, and firm exports almost rise by four-fold. Digital inclusion has little to do with technology but with a basic human right that lets people learn, progress, and enhance their life and economic welfare. Linguistic accessibility and real-time translations with chatbots can be the instruments of breaking down the communication and learning barriers offered by AI.
Such as the absence of proper broadband infrastructure, financial constraints, and inadequate skills in digital knowledge. These are the basic skills to remain connected, to access information and avail of the world economy. European Union has an aim of ensuring that 80 percent of the citizens develop basic digital skills by 2030. Yet, despite the level of economic development in certain countries such as Italy, 45.8 percent of the population there has reached such skills in comparison with the average in the EU which is 55.5 percent. In order to change this reality.
Will global inequality rise or fall?
The help and cooperation of governments, businesses and non-profit organizations can merge to come up with community-linking and building of the necessary infrastructure. This is witnessed when we take an example of EDISON Alliance which has already interconnected over 1 billion people through integration of over 200 partners to develop localised solutions e.g. mobile learning centres where people in remote areas are brought to technology. It is this partnership that has fuelled learning, access and economic growth. The increase in artificial intelligence is expansive.
As McKinsey & Company reported, the number of businesses applying it rose to 78% in 2025, with the figure being 20% in 2017. The realization of AI and building its infrastructure needs enormous amounts of training data and potent chips or computers and extraordinary talents. The market has also become very competitive with few mega tech corporations taking the lead. Some of them coerce to monopolize the future of this technology, on emergent access to computing power, information, and the sophisticated models that startups require.
Conclusion
This is the reason why governments are also in a position to foster an environment in which AI and digital entrepreneurship could rise. They should control and oversee the monopolies of AI, and create platforms to support new business. Innovation should be allowed to thrive in the face of proper regulations, incentives, and finance availability to the small and medium business. The steps to achieve equitable environment to all may include the promotion and investing into open-source models, the encouragement of development of transparent artificial intelligence systems, and the establishment of interoperability between the platforms.
Artificial intelligence has the potential of becoming an effective means of unminding learning barriers, enhancing innovativeness, and providing transformative solutions in various sectors. That is why its application is central: AI systems can either accelerate widespread development or, vice versa, increase prevailing disparities. This should be done right now as AI quickly becomes a part of our lives, and policies need to be proactive to guarantee responsible and inclusive development. AI cannot just be a weapon that can benefit only the chosen ones, it also needs to be in a sense the opening to all and the embracement of inclusion in the very structure of a globalized entity
