IMF Director Warns of Growing Risk of AI Without Clear Security Rules

IMF Director Kristalina Georgieva has significantly hardened her tone on artificial intelligence in recent days. She believes AI still has a huge potential for increasing productivity and economic growth, but without clear security rules, ethical standards, and better cooperation between the technology industry and governments, the risks could become greater than the benefits. Georgieva compared the development of AI to driving a Formula 1 car at night without brakes, emphasizing that the problem is no longer just the speed at which technology advances, but the fact that rules and protective mechanisms are lagging behind. Georgieva does not advocate for slowing down the development of AI. Instead, she believes that the technology could become one of the largest sources of productivity growth in the coming decade. However, she warns that voluntary rules from technology companies may not be enough if those same companies are simultaneously racing to achieve technological superiority. The IMF has been increasingly concerned about the economic consequences of the AI boom in recent months. Investments in chips, data centers, and other infrastructure related to artificial intelligence have become one of the few strong drivers of global investments, especially in the US and parts of Asia. According to the latest IMF data, global growth remains relatively resilient despite high energy costs, geopolitical risks, and expensive financing. A significant portion of this resilience comes from massive investments in artificial intelligence. The IMF sees this as a new weakness. If high expectations of AI are already built into stock prices, investment plans, and company borrowing, disappointment in actual returns and productivity could have wider consequences than a simple drop in technology stocks. The latest IMF report on global financial stability warns that weaker returns on investments in artificial intelligence could trigger a larger decline in the value of companies and other investments related to AI. This problem could be further exacerbated by increasing debt and the fact that a large portion of capital is concentrated in a relatively small number of technology companies and investors. Georgieva also warns of a longer-term problem: AI could further increase the gap between rich and poor countries. To seriously participate in the AI revolution, a country no longer needs to have good programmers and technology companies. It needs data centers, a strong power grid, affordable electricity, capital, access to advanced chips, and quality digital infrastructure. Countries that do not have these may watch as the majority of new investments, productivity, and income ends up in a few of the most developed technology economies. This is particularly important for developing countries that are already facing high debt costs and limited space in their national budgets. If a new technological gap is added to existing problems, their position in the global economy could become even more difficult.