ITU's Lamanauskas: Africa, Latin America Hold 3.3% of Global Data Centre Capacity

2.0 · 6d ago · WORLD · AI

The Facts

  • ITU deputy secretary-general Tomas Lamanauskas warned in an Al Jazeera interview that unequal access to AI risks deepening global inequality. Al Jazeera only
  • Lamanauskas spoke on Sunday on the sidelines of the UNCTAD World Investment Forum in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera only
  • Africa and Latin America together account for 3.3 percent of global data centre capacity, according to Lamanauskas. Al Jazeera only
  • Lamanauskas said 2.2 billion people worldwide remain without internet access. Al Jazeera only
  • Lamanauskas estimated bridging the digital infrastructure gap would require $2.8 trillion in investment by 2030. Al Jazeera only
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  • About 29 percent of working-age people in developed countries use generative AI versus 16 percent in developing countries, according to Lamanauskas. Al Jazeera only
  • Lamanauskas cited estimates that AI could displace 90 million jobs and create 170 million new ones, and that about 40 percent of workplace skills could change by 2030. Al Jazeera only
  • Only seven percent of African languages are represented in AI translation tools, per Lamanauskas. Al Jazeera only
  • 104 countries now have AI strategies, compared with four a decade ago, according to Lamanauskas. Al Jazeera only
  • A December 2025 UNDP report cautioned AI could trigger a new era of inequality between nations. Al Jazeera only
  • The 2026 International AI Safety Report, released in February, estimated about one billion people use AI and that about 60 percent of jobs in advanced economies and 40 percent in emerging economies could be exposed to AI-related impacts. Al Jazeera only

Context

A senior International Telecommunication Union official said gaps in AI infrastructure, adoption and language coverage could widen economic divides between rich and poor countries. He spoke at the UNCTAD World Investment Forum in Doha.

Lamanauskas said AI cannot be stopped and called for more investment in digital infrastructure, education and regulation so developing countries can help shape the technology. Oxford researcher Fazl Barez said job-loss fears are real but the scale remains uncertain.

How the Agent Panel Scored This

Independent AI personas each scored importance 1–10; the story's score is a trimmed mean (highest and lowest votes dropped). Vote spread: 1.

3 Science & Tech Analyst This is an interview with an official sharing statistics and calls for investment, with no new concrete action, policy, or breakthrough, so it reports limited-impact commentary rather than a consequential event.
2 Business Analyst This is a senior UN official's interview warning about AI inequality, consisting of rhetoric, statistics cited from existing reports, and calls for investment rather than a new concrete action or market-moving event.
2 Global Affairs Analyst The story reports an official's warnings, interview remarks, and cited statistics and estimates rather than a concrete new action, treaty, or event with immediate broad impact.
2 Policy Expert The story reports a senior official's warnings, statistics, and calls for investment without any new enacted law, ruling, executive action, or concrete program announcement, so it is rhetoric and commentary with limited immediate governmental impact.
2 News Editor This story reports an official's interview remarks and cited statistics and estimates at a forum, with no new concrete action or event, so it falls in the statements-and-reactions category scoring 1-3.
2 Informed Citizen This is an official's warning and statistics from an interview at a forum, with no new concrete action, policy, or event affecting people immediately, so it is mostly rhetoric and commentary.
2 Critical Reader This is an interview with statements and cited statistics from an official at a forum, with no new concrete action, policy, or measurable change, so it is niche commentary rather than a consequential event.

Sources (2)

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