AI's impact will disproportionately affect knowledge workers in developed nations. Concurrently, it offers nations in the Global South an opportunity to bypass traditional development stages by adopting AI tools, potentially rebalancing the global economic order in a way similar to the mobile phone revolution.

If AGI is concentrated in a few US companies, other nations could lose their economic sovereignty. When American AGI can produce goods far cheaper than local human labor, economies like the UK's could collapse. They would become economically dependent "client states," reliant on American technology for almost all production, with wealth accruing to Silicon Valley.

The IMF projects AI will impact 60% of jobs in rich countries but only 26% in poor ones. This disparity signals that developing nations lack the infrastructure to leverage AI for productivity gains, risking a significant widening of the economic gap between advanced and emerging economies.

Relying solely on imported AI technology from superpowers like the US and China is a path to economic and political dependency. Governments must foster local AI innovation and infrastructure to maintain economic sovereignty and global competitiveness.

UAE Minister Omar Al Olama argues that AI can level the playing field for smaller countries. By dramatically boosting productivity and intelligence, nations with smaller populations can achieve an impact and economic output disproportionate to their size, earning them a seat at the global table.

The utopian vision of AI-driven abundance is shadowed by the practical reality of wealth concentration. A key challenge for society will be developing mechanisms to redistribute the immense value generated by AI so its benefits are shared broadly.

For Chinese policymakers, AI is more than a productivity tool; it represents a crucial opportunity to escape the middle-income trap. They are betting that leadership in AI can fuel the innovation needed to transition from a labor-intensive economy to a developed one, avoiding the stagnation that has plagued other emerging markets.

The consensus in Congress is not to regulate AI to prevent job loss, which is seen as implausible. Instead, the focus is on proactive investments to manage the transition and ensure people have financial stability, with ideas like universal healthcare emerging as alternatives to UBI.

To combat public fear of AI-driven wealth disparity, the tech industry should champion direct equity ownership for all citizens over UBI. Creating a fund like 'Invest America' that gives everyone a stake in major tech companies would align public interest with technological progress, unlike UBI which can strip away purpose.