When ChatGPT launched in late 2022, most people expected wealthy nations to drive its adoption — the United States, Europe, maybe China. Instead, something surprising happened. Within just six months, middle-income countries like Brazil, India, and Nigeria accounted for half of ChatGPT's global traffic. That single fact, buried in the World Bank's 2026 development report, tells a big story about how fast artificial intelligence is spreading to the world's developing regions.
The numbers are striking. Historically, new technologies have taken decades to reach poorer countries. The steam engine needed about 80 years. Electricity took 40 years. The internet made it in 20. But AI is moving at a pace that outpaces all of them. For the first time, the global south isn't waiting at the back of the line for new technology — it may be helping to lead the charge.
The World Bank report calls this a "historic opportunity." Why? Because AI can give developing countries something they have always lacked: access to expert knowledge on a compressed timeline. Consider farmers in remote areas. Agricultural specialists are scarce and often cannot visit every village. But AI-generated weather forecasts are now helping farmers in places with few experts make smarter planting and harvesting decisions. Doctors in understaffed clinics can use AI tools to help diagnose patients faster. These aren't future possibilities — they are happening now.
But the report also urges realism. A small number of companies in just a handful of economies — mainly the United States and China — control the most advanced AI models, the specialized chips they run on, and the massive data centers that power them. This concentration creates risks. Developing countries may find that AI tools built for Western contexts don't fit their needs. An AI trained on data from high-income countries might give advice that ignores local customs, crops, or languages.
The World Bank recommends that developing countries take a three-part approach. First, adopt existing AI tools that already work — tools that help doctors, farmers, and small businesses. Second, adapt those tools to local conditions, like building AI that speaks local languages and works on basic mobile phones rather than expensive smartphones. Third, for those with the resources, advance the technology by building their own AI systems — though the report acknowledges this is "by far the hardest and most expensive path" and not realistic for most countries anytime soon.
Governments also have a role to play. They can build the basics — reliable electricity, internet access, and strong schools — that AI needs to work well. They can use their purchasing power to test and expand promising AI solutions in health, education, and farming. And they can set rules to keep AI safe without creating barriers so high that only rich countries can comply.
The report ends on a note of cautious hope. AI cannot solve every problem. But in the right conditions, with the right support, it might accomplish in ten years what once took a hundred. For developing countries watching this technology evolve, the window to act is open — and may not stay open forever.