While the world is recovering from the human, economic and social crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, the situation, primarily in countries with developing economies, is disproportionally aggravated by the growing unemployment, discrimination, and food insecurity.
At the same time, technological innovation at this accelerated pace can play an important role in narrowing this inequality gap. In fact and if leveraged properly, artificial intelligence, blockchain or other related frontier technologies have the potential to improve global health, sustainability and well-being and contribute to a more inclusive economy.
However, without appropriate and concerted multi-stakeholder efforts in place, the growing global digital divide, made worse by COVID-19, may cause these technologies to instead increase disparities. For instance, while Internet use is growing globally every year, including during the pandemic, 3.7 billion people – under half the world’s population – still has no access to the Internet.
For a symmetrical recovery, it is thus paramount to ensure that the benefits of emerging technologies reach even the most disadvantaged groups. In order to avoid serious consequences, including a major security crisis, governments, companies and the international community have the power and the responsibility to shape a new era where no one stays behind in the new world that will unfold in coming years.