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The companies building the most advanced AI are concentrated in a few countries. But the disruption will spread everywhere, including to countries whose economies depend on the kind of service work AI can now do, such as call centres, software outsourcing and back-office processing. National solutions like Alaska’s dividend do nothing for the rest of the world.

Ideas to explore

• International tax cooperation. The global minimum corporate tax agreed through the OECD shows countries can coordinate. A similar approach could apply to AI profits.
• A global windfall fund. Directing part of any extraordinary AI profits to a fund that benefits people worldwide, as some versions of the windfall clause propose.
• Shared access to AI. Making powerful AI tools affordable and available in poorer countries, so they can benefit too.
• Cash transfers across borders. Evidence from programmes like GiveDirectly’s in Kenya suggests direct cash can make a real difference where incomes are low.

Open questions

• Should AI wealth be shared nationally first, or globally from the start?
• Can countries cooperate when they are also competing to lead in AI?
• Could AI help poorer countries leapfrog, rather than fall further behind?

This pillar is just beginning. Share your thoughts in the comments.