{"id":214856,"date":"2026-02-18T07:02:00","date_gmt":"2026-02-18T12:02:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/microsoft-pledges-50-billion-to-tackle-ai-inequality-as-it-warns-of-a-growing-divide\/"},"modified":"2026-02-18T08:25:19","modified_gmt":"2026-02-18T13:25:19","slug":"microsoft-pledges-50-billion-to-tackle-ai-inequality-as-it-warns-of-a-growing-divide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news-you-need.com\/index.php\/2026\/02\/18\/microsoft-pledges-50-billion-to-tackle-ai-inequality-as-it-warns-of-a-growing-divide\/","title":{"rendered":"Microsoft pledges $50 billion to tackle AI inequality as it warns of a \u2018growing divide\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Microsoft pledges $50 billion to tackle AI inequality as it warns of a \u2018growing divide\u2019<\/a><\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.cnn.com\/2026\/02\/18\/business\/ai-impact-summit-microsoft-inequality-investment<\/a><\/p>\n

Publish Date: 2026-02-18 07:02:00<\/a><\/p>\n

Source Domain: www.cnn.com<\/a><\/p>\n

London<\/span>
\n \u00a0\u2014\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n Microsoft says it is on track to invest $50 billion by the end of the decade to help bring artificial intelligence to lower-income countries, as concerns mount over the technology\u2019s potential to deepen inequality.\n <\/p>\n

\n The announcement was made Wednesday at the AI Impact Summit in New Delhi, where leading tech executives, government officials and AI researchers are debating how to use AI to solve real-world problems.\n <\/p>\n

\n Policymakers globally are increasingly worried that the unequal adoption of AI risks widening income and development gaps between rich and poor countries. In December, the United Nations Development Project called for global cooperation on standards and safety to ensure the technology \u201cfunctions as a shared public good rather than a concentrated advantage.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n At the summit, Microsoft likewise expressed the need for cross-border partnerships to prevent poorer countries from being left behind.\n <\/p>\n

\n \u201cWe need to act with urgency to address the growing AI divide,\u201d Microsoft president Brad Smith and chief responsible AI officer Natasha Crampton said in a joint statement. \u201cArtificial intelligence is diffusing at an impressive speed, but its adoption around the world remains profoundly uneven.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n The company\u2019s $50 billion commitment to developing economies by 2030 compares with the roughly $80 billion that Microsoft invested into data centers last year alone, more than half of which was directed to a single economy: the United States.\n <\/p>\n

\n HTML embed code: