IMF Managing Director: AI investment is spreading from the United States to the rest of the world, and could become an engine of global economic growth.

Beating AI News Flash: According to a Financial Times report, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Managing Director Kristalina Georgieva stated that the AI investment boom is spreading from the United States to the rest of the world. As countries scale up construction of data centers and related infrastructure, AI is shifting from a U.S.-specific phenomenon to a global engine of economic growth. Georgieva noted that the global economy has been impacted by energy shocks triggered by the Iran war and potential closure of the Strait of Hormuz, yet its actual performance has outperformed earlier expectations. The energy crisis’s impact has been buffered by falling energy demand, releases of emergency oil and gas reserves, increased energy supplies from regions outside the Gulf, and growth in renewable energy and coal supplies. She pointed out that the global economy is currently in a "tug-of-war" between the AI boom and the economic shocks from the Iran war. While AI investment remains concentrated in the U.S., countries participating in the AI hardware supply chain and exporting related products globally are also benefiting. However, Georgieva warned that energy shocks are not over. As oil and gas reserves continue to decline and winter approaches in the Northern Hemisphere, a renewed rise in oil prices could push up inflation, force global central banks to raise interest rates, further increasing government financing costs and dragging down economic growth.