Emerging smart digital technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), fifth-generation mobile communications technology (5G) and cloud computing are rapidly changing our world and the ways in which we live, communicate and work.
As firms embrace the fourth industrial revolution – the continuing enhancement of traditional manufacturing practices through the use of data, interconnectivity, analytics and automation to achieve efficient and profitable growth – worldwide investment in information and communication technology (ICT) is rising, reaching US$4.9 trillion last year, a new report shows.
The Global Digitalization Index 2024, compiled by Huawei Technologies, a Chinese global provider of ICT and smart devices, and market research and analytical company International Data Corporation, also cites research by the World Economic Forum, which predicts digital technology and AI will drive 70 per cent of global economic growth over the next five years.
Global leaders and policymakers are also examining how best to measure the return on digital infrastructure investment, evaluate their ICT ecosystems and set up a strategy for expanding their digital footprint.
Digitalisation helps drive prosperity
The report aims to provide these answers by examining and quantifying the progress of digital development in 77 countries that make up 93 per cent of the world’s gross domestic product (GDP) and 80 per cent of the global population.
