IMF chief economist: Without AI goods, trade would have grown by 4.6% — Dawn
At the annual meetings of the IMF and the World Bank in Bangkok, Thailand, experts and officials discussed the impact of the artificial intelligence boom on the global economy. According to Dawn, the International Monetary Fund believes that spending on data centers and microchips helped soften the economic blow from rising global energy prices caused by the war in the Middle East.
Impact on trade
IMF chief economist Silvana Tenreyro said that global trade grew by 8.3% in 2023–2025. Without goods related to artificial intelligence, this figure would have been about 4.6%, she said.
Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem said that AI is already visible in gross domestic product figures, as well as in stock and bond markets. According to him, the technology is present throughout the global economy, and its development is only beginning.
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Warnings over investments
At the same time, participants in the meetings warned against excessive reliance on AI investments. US Federal Reserve Chair Kevin Warsh called artificial intelligence the most significant change for the global economy in his lifetime and emphasized its considerable benefits. However, he warned that the path of the technology's development would be uneven, particularly because of uncertainty about its future market structure.
Delegations leave during Russia's speech
During a meeting of the IMF's steering committee on Saturday, a number of delegations left the room when Finance Minister of the aggressor state, the Russian Federation, Anton Siluanov, began speaking in Russian. Three informed sources reported this.
According to one of the interlocutors, representatives of the European Union were among those who left. Another source said that nearly a dozen delegates left the room, including representatives of Denmark, Sweden, Finland, Norway, Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia. Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, the publication notes, complicated the work of the International Monetary and Financial Committee and prevented it from adopting joint statements in subsequent years.
