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GT Voice: Bridging digital gap to be decisive factor in global AI competition_我的网站
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In a report released on Tuesday, the World Bank made an optimistic assessment that artificial intelligence (AI) could allow developing countries to do in a decade what might otherwise take a century. The report found that AI will throw developing economies a lifeline, and that the technology's greatest promise for developing countries lies not in replacing workers, but in amplifying what they can do.
While advanced economies are still debating whether AI will wipe out white-collar jobs, this report serves as a critical reminder that AI is not merely a force that replaces human labor. More importantly, it acts as an amplifier that unlocks growth potential.
For years, many assumed that AI penetration would primarily erode low- and mid-skilled jobs and widen development gaps among economies. Yet for most developing countries still undergoing digital transformation, AI represents far more than a choice between automation and human labor. It provides a cost-effective shortcut to remedy decades of digital infrastructure shortcomings.
Many digital capabilities that once required massive capital investment, systematic infrastructure development and professional talent training can now be realized through open-weight AI tools. This dramatic reduction in technological barriers offers developing countries a rare chance to leapfrog stages of technological iteration and catch up with global development trends.
In China, this "amplification effect" is unfolding in various ways. Over the past few years, new professions built around human-AI collaboration have kept emerging, while the skill sets required for traditional jobs are evolving at a rapid pace.
What matters even more is that China's unique AI development path carries special reference value for other developing countries. China has already integrated AI on a massive scale into core real-life scenarios spanning manufacturing, agriculture, healthcare and education, while continuously driving down the cost of access.
According to CNBC, Chinese built AI models are gaining ground, and they are gaining traction as they narrow the performance gap with leading American rivals while remaining significantly cheaper to use. This model provides the most practical, accessible entry point for developing economies stepping into the AI era, rather than forcing them to chase unattainable, high-end technical standards that are out of their financial and operational reach.
With the rise of Chinese open-source and open-weight models, AI competition between China and the US has become a hot topic in the global technology landscape. Some in the West often frame this as a technological power tussle between two major countries, measured by model parameters, financing scale and semiconductor manufacturing precision. While such indicators reflect technological advancement, one shouldn't overlook the far more fundamental purpose of technology. The ultimate value of any technology lies in its ability to address shared global challenges and deliver tangible public benefits.
Many developing regions are still in the very early stages of digital transformation. Truly meaningful, impactful AI capability is never cutting-edge technology locked away in a laboratory. It is technology that can step out of the lab, root itself in local realities, and deliver inclusive, accessible solutions that help these countries cross the threshold of digital infrastructure at minimal cost. It is about bringing open-weight, user-friendly AI tools into the hands of ordinary people and companies.
When more developing economies are able to use AI as a lever to bridge their long-standing development gaps, the global digital divide will not be further widened by this new round of technological revolution. Instead, it will be gradually narrowed for the first time in decades. From this perspective, the outcome of global AI competition will not be determined by which country first reaches the ceiling of technological sophistication. The real decisive factor is which country can extend technological benefits to the broadest population groups and leverage AI to drive inclusive global growth.
。 BRUSSELS -- A European Union decision on whether to authorize the use of the controversial chemical herbicide glyphosate in the 27-nation bloc for at least 10 more years was delayed for a month after member countries failed to agree on Friday.The chemical, which is widely used in the 27-nation bloc, is approved on the EU market until mid-December. Representatives of the EU’s executive arm and member countries voted Friday in favor of renewing its authorization until 2033, despite protests from environmental groups. But to be adopted, the 10-year extension proposed by the European Commission required a “qualified majority,” defined as 55% of the 27 members representing at least 65% of the total EU population of some 450 million people. Several member states abstained, and that was not achieved. The European Commission is now expected to amend its proposal before another vote takes place next month. Ultimately, if no consensus is found, the Commission will have the final say.Green members of the European Parliament welcomed the delay and urged member states to vote for a complete ban of glyphosate.“It is irresponsible to again renew the authorization of the use of glyphosate,” said Bas Eickhout, the vice-chair of the Parliament's environment committee. "This would give the big agri a blank check to earn billions by selling a pesticide for which there are still big gaps in knowledge about the effects on our health, and at the same time poses large risks for European biodiversity.”Over the past decade, glyphosate, used in products like the weedkiller Roundup, has been at the heart of heated scientific debate about whether it causes cancer and its possible disruptive effect on the environment. The chemical was introduced by Monsanto in 1974 as an effective way of killing weeds while leaving crops and plants intact.The France-based International Agency for Research on Cancer, which is part of the World Health Organization, classified it as a “probable human carcinogen” in 2015. The EU’s food safety agency had paved the way for the 10-year extension when it said in July it “did not identify critical areas of concern” in the use of glyphosate. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency found in 2020 that the herbicide did not pose a health risk to people, but a federal appeals court in California ordered the agency last year to reexamine that ruling, saying it wasn’t supported by enough evidence.EU member states are responsible for authorizing the use of products including the chemical on their national markets, following a safety evaluation.In France, President Emmanuel Macron had committed to ban glyphosate before 2021 but has since backpedaled. Germany, the EU's biggest economy, plans to stop using it from next year, but the decision could be challenged. Luxembourg’s national ban, for instance, was overturned in court earlier this year.Greenpeace had called on the EU to reject the market reapproval, citing studies indicating that glyphosate may cause cancer and other health problems and could also be toxic to bees. The agroindustry sector, however, claims there are no viable alternatives.“Whatever the final decision that emerges from this re-authorization process, there is one reality that member states will have to face up to,” said Copa-Cogeca, a group representing farmers and agricultural cooperatives. “There is as of yet no equivalent alternative to this herbicide, and without it, many agricultural practices, notably soil conservation, would be rendered complex, leaving farmers with no solutions.”。
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