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How G20 can facilitate equitable digital transformation
The G20 must address the many risks and challenges of digital transformation so no country or individual is left behind.
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Online marketplaces and food delivery services have become new income sources for individuals and businesses during the pandemic. (Unsplash/Courtesy of Edi Kurniawan) (Unsplash/Edi Kurniawan)
In 2016, the top 1 percent of the world’s population owned half of the world’s wealth. For the past two years, the incomes of 99 percent of the world’s population have worsened while the incomes of the top 10 richest people, of which eight are technology titans, have doubled.
Digital transformation is one of the most crucial factors changing modern human life, from steam engines to electronic machines, and from digital computers to artificial intelligence (AI). Recent AI technologies include software as a service (SaaS), robotics, the internet of things (IoT) and virtual reality (VR).
In the last decade, the annual number of industrial robot installations worldwide has more than doubled, with more than 400,000 robots installed in 2021 alone. China, Japan, the United States, Korea and Germany accounted for 76 percent of total industrial robot installations.
In the last five years, investment in AI increased almost sixfold from US$13 billion in 2015 to $68 billion in 2020. Brazil, India, Canada and South Africa are among the countries with the highest growth in AI for hiring.
Digital transformation reduces the cost of sharing information, leading to unprecedented changes in what and how we trade. The pandemic has even accelerated digital transformation and digital trade. Developments in digital trade include digital payment services and digital service delivery.
Global retail e-commerce sales in 2020 increased almost 30 percent from 2019 levels (Statista, 2021). In 2020, around 24 percent of firms received orders online and over 40 percent of firms placed orders online (UNCTAD, 2022). Digital trade reached $4.9 trillion last year, and is estimated to reach $5.5 trillion this year and more than $10 trillion by 2030.
Overall, digital transformation improves productivity and trade. Technological advances can work faster and with greater precision and accuracy, and thus reduce production and operating costs. Industrial robots and AI can also help markets to function more efficiently and improve overall human welfare.
