World Bank says ‘small AI’ could transform developing countries

The World Bank is urging developing countries to kickstart the creation of “small AI” models, which can run on a mobile phone with low connectivity, to reap the full benefits of artificial intelligence. While Silicon Valley big tech firms are focused on ever more sophisticated consumer products, Paschal Donohoe, the World Bank’s chief knowledge officer, said AI could also accelerate development for emerging economies – but only if it was adapted to local needs. Small AI uses specialised models that are trained u…

By the Truvace deskOctober 18, 20262 min read1 sourceJournalismTRV-2026-1802· cite & verify

World Bank says ‘small AI’ could transform developing countries

In brief

At the World Bank and IMF annual meetings in Bangkok, World Bank chief knowledge officer Paschal Donohoe urged developing countries to build small AI: narrowly trained models for specific purposes that run on mobile phones with poor connectivity and in local languages. He pointed to farmers in the AgriConnect scheme in India who need soil analysis in their own language.

The argument matters because it frames AI as a possible route to faster economic development for countries that big-tech consumer products do not target. What remains uncertain is whether such tools will actually be built and adopted. Donohoe only proposed collaboration among the World Bank, governments and the private sector, and the article reports no measured outcomes from small AI.

Main points

Small AI uses specialised models trained on narrower datasets for a specific purpose.
Donohoe said development that could have taken centuries might now happen within decades.
The IMF's Kristalina Georgieva said AI adoption needs electricity, digital infrastructure and government protection against bad actors.
Georgieva warned that 40% of jobs worldwide are likely to be augmented or eliminated by AI over time, with early-career workers most exposed.

The gain

Small, specialised AI models running on phones in local languages with low connectivity could deliver information such as soil analysis to farmers that too few experts can provide, potentially speeding development.

The rundown

Donohoe said the technology should be adapted to local needs rather than follow the sophisticated consumer products that Silicon Valley firms focus on. He suggested such products could emerge from collaboration between the World Bank, governments and the private sector.

The article describes infrastructure gaps. The World Bank's world development report, published in August, noted that almost a third of rural schools in sub-Saharan Africa lacked electricity and more than two-thirds had no consistent internet connection.

On jobs, Georgieva said young people entering the labour market are those to worry about first, because routine entry-level jobs that once led up the ranks may disappear. Separately, Donohoe said the World Bank mobilised $120bn of private capital in the past year to link private finance with jobs and development.