Technology has been a lifeline to developing countries during the COVID-19 crisis, helping to 
maintain essential services and keep companies in business. It has also offered a glimpse of a brighter future, one in which gains in income and employment are driven by technologies such as artificial intelligence.
Even before the pandemic, commercial uses for AI were expanding rapidly in emerging markets, in fields ranging from manufacturing and energy to education and financial services. The necessary lockdowns and travel restrictions imposed by countries have accelerated that trend. Companies like Clinicas de Azucar in Mexico are using AI to analyze data and improve health outcomes for thousands of at-risk diabetic patients. In India, 1mg uses AI to help customers compare prices for medical services from different labs.
faster and with fewer errors than humans. I wanted to test this on analyzing labor market demand and skills gaps. So, earlier this year, I partnered with 
and social media? Have you ever received an offer for a product or service that you were just thinking of? A friend of mine was researching about a critical illness and looking for insurance plans on the internet at the same time, and she started receiving ads to secure “the right spot” in a graveyard! 
intelligence about the news you peruse, social media activity, and shopping preferences. They choose the ads you passively consume on your newsfeed and throughout your social media accounts, your internet searches, and even the music you hear, creating an incrementally increasingly customized version of reality specifically for you. Your days are subtly influenced by marketers, behavioral scientists, and mathematicians armed with cloud supercomputers. All of this is done in the name of maximizing profit to influence what you’re thinking, buying, and whom you will be electing…
What is your role within the World Bank?
Development work is getting more technologically sophisticated by the day. The World Bank’s Information and Technology Solutions (ITS) department recently started an Artificial Intelligence (AI) Initiative. At the launch event, we explored the role of AI in development and what it might mean for the work that we do here at the Bank. In short: AI is already here, international organizations have an important role to play, and we need to invest in our skills and expertise.
Netherlands for the World Bank 
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