G7’s AI productivity blueprint
This report, prepared for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting, analyzes how G7 countries can leverage AI to boost productivity amid weak economic projections and geopolitical turbulence. It identifies three core conduits—technological capabilities, applications and markets, and policy and regulation—through which AI impacts productivity. The analysis culminates in four plausible scenarios for AI’s evolution, offering strategic foresight for policymakers to navigate an uncertain future and foster economic growth.
Points clés
- The report was prepared for the G7 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors’ Meeting under the Canadian G7 Presidency in May 2025.
- Authors Paul Samson, S. Yash Kalash, and Nikolina Zivkovic contributed to this special report.
- The Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI), an independent, non-partisan think tank, supported the report.
- The report identifies three core conduits for AI’s impact on productivity: technological capabilities, applications and markets, and policy and regulation.
- Four scenarios for AI’s impact on global productivity are explored: Flat AI, US-led AI, Multipolar AI, and AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) Revolution.
- The US has shown striking labor productivity acceleration post-COVID-19, widening the gap with other advanced economies.
- In 2024, US private AI investment was US$109 billion, exceeding China’s US$9.3 billion and significantly surpassing other G7 countries.
- A significant weakness for G7 countries is ensuring a sufficient labor and talent pool, heavily reliant on immigration.
- SMEs, the backbone of G7 economies, lag behind large firms in AI adoption, limiting overall productivity gains.
- The report recommends greater G7 coordination on AI data security, integrity, and infrastructure to secure systems and leverage economic growth.
À retenir
So, the G7 countries are facing a bit of a pickle: weak economic growth and a rapidly evolving AI landscape. Apparently, our productivity is lagging, and we’re relying a bit too much on imported brains to keep the AI dream alive. The US is basically running laps around everyone else in AI investment, while the rest of us are still trying to figure out if our SMEs can even afford ChatGPT. The solution? More G7 meetings, more coordination, and perhaps a collective prayer that AI doesn’t just make a few tech giants richer while the rest of us are left retraining as “prompt engineers.” But hey, at least we’re talking about it, right? That’s half the battle, or so they say.
Sources
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