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Artificial intelligence (AI) adoption is expected to accelerate globally over the next 12 months, with economists seeing productivity gains from the technology, even as concerns persist over the ability of data-centre investment to generate comparable employment, according to the World Economic Forums September 2026 Chief Economists Outlook.
As many as 97 per cent of surveyed chief economists expect AI adoption to increase over the next year, the highest level of consensus recorded on any issue in the survey, while 69 per cent expect AI to unlock meaningful productivity gains. Over the next 12 months, 97% of respondents expect AI adoption to increase, and 69% expect the technology to unlock meaningful productivity gains, the report said. The report said the benefits of AI adoption are expected to spread across all industries within the next three years, although digital sectors are likely to remain ahead. Economists have also brought forward their expectations for meaningful productivity gains in industries such as agriculture, energy and materials, mining, and engineering, construction and utilities. The technology race between the United States and China is also expected to narrow. About 69 per cent of chief economists expect Chinese large language models to fully catch up with their US counterparts over the next 12 months, the report said. However, the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is creating a different set of concerns. About 78 per cent of respondents expect data-centre investment to contribute significantly to global growth, but 61 per cent do not expect such investment to generate a significant share of global job creation. The report also highlighted growing pressure around the infrastructure required to support AI. As many as 79 per cent of chief economists expect data-centre expansion to face significant pushback from local communities. Higher electricity prices for other consumers were identified as a concern by 78 per cent, while 58 per cent pointed to potentially higher water prices. At the same time, AI-related infrastructure is expected to influence energy investment. The report said 83 per cent of respondents expect global investment in nuclear energy to increase over the next 12 months, compared with 80 per cent for renewables and 70 per cent for fossil fuels. The report said AI remains the leading source of optimism for the global economy, with productivity gains and technological breakthroughs expected to support growth. However, the scale of future benefits will depend on how widely AI is adopted across industries and whether rising infrastructure investment translates into broader economic and employment gains. (ANI)
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