Digital transition in the world: challenges through competition and opportunities

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The digital and AI’s revolution continues to dominate in in the political economy’s patterns around the world: numerous states have entered the digital transition and governance’s processes. As a consequence, most states are compelled to determine/adapt their policies in promoting and reshaping modern scientifically-based digital economic and political governance. Core digital strategies are indicative of the disposition toward the “transformative digital regulations” during the AI age. 

Background
The landscape of global AI approaches is in large part defined by strategic competition, where states are striving towards digital technological supremacy but somehow pursuing distinctions rooted in their political systems, economic models and societal values.
The national/regional AI strategies, however, should never be taken at face value and confused with the reality; but it is still vital to note the differences in approaches between individual states and nations.
Within the global digital transition’s process, the perspectives in the AI tools/models are seen as diverse and varying: e.g. generally, worldwide digital and AI strategies are focusing on building secure national infrastructures, expanding public digital services and establishing regulatory frameworks to manage global economic and security risks.
For example, recently published World Development Report-2026, provides the first ever comprehensive assessment of the AI’s importance in the global economies: i.e. specifically, the ways the companies and governments using AIs, showing the largest gains and managing possible risks.
The report’s central message is both practical and ambitious: the process of advancing the AI frontier relies on semiconductors, data centers and the AI-training data. Hence, the top-level research talents around the world are presently in top demand (though mostly, in developing countries). However, even the adoption of available AIs is not enough: i.e. the AI’s effectiveness in great extent depends on the local context and traditions.
Active AI’s adapting, the report confirms, is the best way in solving urgent national problems – in middle – high- and less-developed states, in such spheres as diagnosing disease, growing businesses, advising farmers and delivering public services, etc. The active deployment of AI models within coming decades can speed up an optimal socio-economic growth – the process that might have otherwise take about a century.
General source: World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence. In: https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/entities/publication/8d048ad2-5cc3-4fc0-ba22-2e1f82f5d7de

Digital incentives
A number of vital aspects were underlined in the global digital adoption and spending: e.g. a) in surging investment, as the worldwide spending on AI-optimized infrastructure-as-a-service (IaaS) would reach $42 billion in 2026; b) in growth and usage, as the global adoption of generative AI tools reached 16.3% of the world’s population by late 2025, though adoption grows faster in the Global North than the Global South; and c) in national policies, as about 90 countries (out of over 200 UN member states) have adopted formal national AI strategies to guide economic growth and public sector innovation.
The World Bank has used a qualitative analysis (seen in the “World Development Report 2026: The Promise of Artificial Intelligence”), showing the “breadth and the depth” of public actions shaping AI’s future, depicting two major steps:
= First, revealing the global landscape of AI strategies and zooms in on public and private investments in supercomputers around the world.
= Second, providing an in-depth comparative analysis of specific cases across income groups, covering public investment trends, business environment approaches, regulatory orientations and international cooperation.
More in the comments at: Roxana Radu “The Global Landscape of National AI Strategies.”. In:
https://thedocs.worldbank.org/en/doc/f74e811954e7a2a0045cd6330c967590-0050062026/original/The-Global-Landscape-of-AI.pdf

Global vision on AI perspectives…
The global vision for artificial intelligence’s perspectives can be summed up as a shared effort by world leaders, companies and international organisations (like the United Nations, OECD and the EU) to balance rapid technical growth with safe and human-focused rules. There are already generally agreed certain global governance principles and standards: e.g. the United Nations scientific panel of 40 experts has studied the ways the AI tools impact society and manage (or “guide” as it is more indicative) national and global policies.
There are additionally some humanitarian projects like the “AI for Good”, using machine learning to solve global health and environmental problems. For example, the AI for Good Global Summit took place in July 2026, at a convention center in Geneva, Switzerland, bringing together international leaders, researchers and policymakers to focus on real-world AI governance and deployment.
Source: https://aiforgood.itu.int/summit26/

… and on regional variations
= In the US, the “AI Action Plan” (aptly titled “winning the race”) represents the US AI strategy, which is “unequivocally driven by the goal of maintaining global technological dominance”; it is framed as a national security imperative and a path to a new “golden age of innovation”.
The US released the “winning the race” in July 2025, to secure the US global dominance in AIs through deregulation, massive infrastructure investments and strategic international alliances.
The central tenets of this strategy are: accelerating innovation, building infrastructure and leading international digital diplomacy. Thus, the AIs are seen as a source of national power and success in accelerating its development and adoption as the top priority, where all other considerations are secondary and subservient to this overarching aim.
Source: https://ai-ei.org/the-u-s-ai-action-plan-a-path-to-ethical-and-responsible-use-of-ai/?gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=22979320730&gbraid=0AAAAA_P7btpgTmTq2hHppvMdHk_swTcUB&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI0qS3rsC-lgMVraeDBx3N7wqTEAAYASAAEgLvqfD_BwE

The vision is bold and ambitious, up to a point where it could be even considered reckless. Thus, in the plan’s part called “Accelerate AI innovation” it notes: “America must have the most powerful AI systems in the world, but it must also lead the world in creative and transformative application of those systems. Ultimately, it is the uses of technology that create economic growth, new jobs and scientific advancements; hence, America must invent and embrace productivity enhancing AI uses that the world wants to emulate. Achieving this requires the Federal government to create the conditions where private sector-led innovation can flourish”.
More on the US digital strategy in: https://www.ai.gov/action-plan

= The European Union’s strategy, which is firmly founded on the principles of “trustworthiness,” and “human-centric AI”. The EU’s approach is a deliberate counterpoint to the US innovation-at-all-costs model, prioritizing democratic values and fundamental rights over technical progress and economic efficiency.
The EU’s “AI Continent Action Plan,” launched in April 2025, ostensibly seeks also positioning the EU-27 as a global leader, by developing “trustworthy AI technologies” that enhance competitiveness while safeguarding democratic values. This is a vision of ensuring AI above all by serving people and being a “force for good in society”.
More on the EU AI continental plan in: https://www.integrin.dk/2025/04/10/ais-continental-plan-europe-heads-toward-global-digital-leadership/

AIs in other states around the world
Many other states in the world have adopted both “light-touch” and quite pragmatic approaches to regulating and supporting the AI tools development.
Thus, the British “AI Opportunities Action Plan” (adopted in July 2024), maintains a pro-innovation regulatory stance, favoring flexibility over prescriptive legislation. The UK-AI’s action plan is a strategic national initiative “to harness the AI potentials for economic growth and public service enhancement”. Generally, it aims to fuel AI growth while ensuring safety—not through heavy regulation – but by enabling frameworks.
The UK plan also seeks to transform regulations and governance into enablers, rather than acting solely as overseers; hence, the “regulators” are now expected to actively promote AI adoption. Key action plan’s changes include: a) “sponsored” government departments must incorporate “enabling safe AI innovations” into their strategic guidance; and b) the “regulators” are required to publish annual reports showing how they have been supporting the AI innovations by using measurable outcomes.
Source: https://ukai.co/resources/ai-opportunities-action-plan.html

Japan’s AI strategy is based on national legislation aimed to promote and regulate the AI deployment. It is titled as the “Act on Promotion of Research, Development and Utilization of Artificial Intelligence-Related Technologies”, and was adopted in May 2025. This act is Japan’s first law expressly directed at AI technology: i.e. it is focused on establishing basic policies and principles rather than creating detailed prescriptions and prohibitions (similar to those revealed in the EU AI Act).
The strategy is heavily influenced by the current “societal context”, particularly its rapidly aging population and labor shortages. Then, the overarching act’s vision is the so-called “Society 5.0” aimed at using AIs models to solve social issues and improve the quality of life for all citizens. Notably, Japan has not opted for “hard” regulation; instead, the “digital governance” is relying on a “more agile approach, based on soft-law and standard setting by voluntary measures”.
More on the second AI “basic plan” (July, 2026) in: https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/ai/ai_plan/aiplan_g_eng_20260714.pdf

Singapore’s AI strategy is more pragmatic and action-oriented, by leveraging its position as a global hub to attract talent, capital and partnerships. The National AI Strategy 2.0 (NAIS 2.0) is a “whole-of-government, whole-of-economy” approach aimed at making the city-state a world leader and using AI for the “public good”.
Keeping in mind the national values, the trust issue is being one of its 3 pillars: a) the strategy is clearly focused on encouraging value-creation activities; b) it is strengthening the AI startup ecosystem; and c) improving public service productivity through the use of AI. Hence, the Singapore’s regulatory approach is generally approached as the “fit-for-purpose” and “tiered” in line with the overall pragmatic and goal-oriented measures.
Source: https://www.mddi.gov.sg/newsroom/update-to-singapore-s-national-ai-strategy–refreshed-priorities-to-harness-ai-for-the-public-good-factsheet/

China’s AI strategy is a specific state-led and mission-oriented project: the national digital strategy focuses on a “diffusion-forward” and open-source model that embeds inexpensive, open-weight AI and robotics directly into manufacturing and the physical economy.
For the Chinese governance, the “mastering AI is a geopolitical imperative” aimed at establishing China as the “primary global AI innovation center” by 2030. Its key distinguishing features are: a) the top-down, authoritarian approach to governance, b) the concept of Military-Civil Fusion, and c) the strategic use of data and open source as tools of furthering China’s global ambitions.
More in: https://www.ginc.org/chinas-national-ai-strategy/

China’s latest “Generation Artificial Intelligence Development Plan” (adopted in 2017) set clear, time-bound targets: be competitive by 2020, become a world leader by 2025, and be the global innovation center by 2030. The strategy outlined China’s goals regarding AI including its aspiration to emerge as the driving force in defining ethical norms and standards for AI. As the engine of industrial transformation, the AI models are expected to restructure Chinese production and develop a new demand for the “digitally-intelligent” Chinese economy.
This notion outlines China’s soaring ambition with a specific focus on education: not only is it a remarkable vision, but also as the country’s intention to build next-generation AI technologies, coordinate AI innovation platforms and accelerate the training and development of high-end human talent.
More about the 2017 plan in: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chapters/oa-edit/10.4324/9781003230762-17/new-generation-artificial-intelligence-development-plan