Bangkok, Thailand – The Annual Meetings of the World Bank and IMF closed on Sunday. Global decision makers focused on three issues: artificial intelligence, debt and the energy crisis.

"Given the crises and global issues we are facing, the Bangkok meetings were a disappointment," noted Eric LeCompte the Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network. LeCompte, a United Nations finance expert, monitored IMF meetings and reports since 2010. "Threats from debt, AI and too high food and fuel prices were the focus of these meetings and we saw no action."

During the meetings, Jubilee USA Network pressed the IMF to respond to the Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The IMF failed to reach consensus on solutions for containment or health.

"The IMF already has the tools to contain Ebola and strengthen the healthcare system in the DRC," noted LeCompte. "Implementing a response to Ebola was low-hanging fruit, yet world leaders failed to act."

Read Jubilee USA's statement on the meetings and the IMFC and Development Committee meetings here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF raising artificial intelligence issues for the global economy here.

Read Jubilee USA's Statement on the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable meeting here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the opening of IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings here.

Bangkok, Thailand – As the IMF and World Bank conclude their Annual Meetings in Bangkok, the International Monetary and Financial Committee (IMFC) met on Saturday and the Development Committee met on Thursday. These committees are major leadership and policymaking bodies for the IMF and World Bank.

Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network and a United Nations finance expert who monitors IMF, G20 and World Bank meetings, releases the following statement on the committees and Bangkok World Bank and IMF Annual Meetings:

"Overall, the meetings are incredibly disappointing.

"The meetings claim that economic growth is continuing, while extreme poverty increased, more countries are in crisis, growth is historically at low levels, income gaps widened and we saw too optimistic economic growth projections based on AI investments.

"The bursting of the economic AI bubble is a threat as IMF analysis reveals.

"The AI bubble bursting is no longer a question of if, it is now a matter of when.

"Countries asked the IMF to do more work on the major economic challenges posed to the economy by AI.

"With a continuing energy crisis, soaring food prices, high debts and rising inflation, the news from these meetings is quite dark.

"The IMF emphasized the need to stabilize the economies of many countries which requires reducing debt.

"We lack a reliable path for countries that need debt relief to receive it.

"There are new tools that can help countries with better debt sustainability analysis that officials endorsed.

"We are concerned that it may take longer for the IMF to signal when country debt levels are at crisis point.

"The reforms to conditionality approved at the meeting may require more dramatic austerity measures in poor countries.

"The meetings missed an opportunity for decisive actions to contain Ebola.

"The IMF has tools to stop Ebola, like the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust and the Resilience and Sustainability Facility. But the IMF did not take action.

"As countries struggle with soaring food and energy bills, rising debt payments and less income, the World Bank discussed rapidly lending more money to countries.

"The Bank mobilized new private lending of $112 billion in the last year. Conversations focused on how this lending can and should be used.

"The new private lending must be transparent and ensure positive development and job creation.

"We are concerned when private investment is guaranteed by the World Bank because it could prevent a country in crisis from restructuring that debt.

"I am worried that the private lending the World Bank is organizing could still bypass the countries with the most severe development and job creation challenges.

"New private investments can't succeed in countries with serious debt problems, unless those countries receive debt relief.

"Countries need more grants, aid and concessional loans.

"Amidst fuel, food and cost-of-living crises, we saw Bangkok decision makers want to get more resources for the International Development Association or the arm of the World Bank that provides aid and low-cost loans to the poorest countries.

"Ahead of the meetings, the IMF head referenced the Game of Thrones television show. She referred to the economy as 'winter is coming.' We leave Bangkok feeling as if winter has already arrived."

Read Jubilee USA's press release on IMF raising artificial intelligence issues for the global economy here.

Read Jubilee USA's Statement on the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable meeting here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the opening of IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings here.

Bangkok, Thailand - Artificial intelligence weighs heavy on discussions as world leaders meet for the Annual World Bank and IMF Meetings. In the days leading up to the meetings, IMF head Kristalina Georgieva listed AI among three key issues affecting the global economy along with global debt levels and high energy prices.

"The IMF is using diplomatic language to warn of a possible AI bubble in the economy," stated Eric LeCompte who monitored IMF meetings and analysis since 2010. LeCompte is the Executive Director of the religious development group, Jubilee USA Network. "While noting that AI is helping a few countries achieve economic growth, the IMF highlights concerns that the growth could be inflated and it will be devastating if that bubble bursts."

IMF analysis offered in its two flagship reports, the World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report, advised that if artificial intelligence does not meet growth expectations than investments and financial markets could significantly worsen. The Global Financial Report is stark in its concern of the economic threats that artificial intelligence could pose.

Analysis from the IMF shares the economic buoy from AI is felt primarily by some wealthy countries and not impacting the more dire economic conditions most countries experience.

"Most developing countries are not experiencing any benefit from economic growth attributed to AI," shared LeCompte who serves on United Nations economic expert groups. "If the AI bubble bursts, developing countries face even more economic pain from additional trade, loan and aid loss from wealthy countries and the private sector."

Some producers of AI are sounding alarms that the technology could harm people or even lead to the extinction of humans.

"AI must stay under human control and be used for all of our benefit," stated LeCompte. "From a historical perspective, the onset of most technological and industrial advances only benefited a small elite."

LeCompte's development group worries how AI is already being used to exploit people and countries.

"We are concerned how AI is eliminating jobs and affecting where jobs and industry move," explained LeCompte. "The potential for the use of AI to target and exploit vulnerable countries for debt collection is yet another growing concern."

Read Jubilee USA's Statement on the Global Sovereign Debt Roundtable meeting here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the World Economic Outlook and Global Financial Stability Report here.

Read Jubilee USA's press release on the opening of IMF/World Bank Annual Meetings here.

Bangkok, Thailand – Ministers and world, business and development leaders begin major international meetings amidst growing concerns of high country debts, soaring food and fuel prices, and artificial intelligence challenges. More than 18,000 people from 191 countries will attend the Thailand meetings.

"The IMF is raising serious concerns on the state of a global economy that appears to be getting worse," noted Eric LeCompte, Executive Director of the religious development group Jubilee USA Network and a UN finance expert who monitored the meetings since 2010. "Our meetings are dominated by threats from high country debt levels, artificial intelligence and rising food and fuel prices."

Ahead of the meetings, a campaign urging the IMF to stop Ebola and bolster healthcare in the affected country of the Democratic Republic of Congo was launched by Jubilee USA Network. The bipartisan religious coalition, representing more than 700 global faith institutions, development groups and labor unions, calls for the IMF to provide at least $205 million in debt relief and aid for the DRC.

“The current Ebola crisis took at least 4200 lives and if we fail to contain Ebola, we face another major threat to the global economy,” said LeCompte, whose organization successfully worked with the IMF to address the 2013 Ebola epidemic and the 2020 COVID pandemic. "This is low-hanging fruit as the IMF already holds the tools to address this Ebola disaster."

The DRC makes $205 million in debt payments to the IMF over the next 12 months and Jubilee USA notes those debt payments can be canceled by the Catastrophe Containment and Relief Trust (CCRT), used during the 2013 Ebola outbreak in Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. That tool was used again to provide debt relief for 28 of the world’s poorest countries during the COVID pandemic. Other IMF vehicles to address Ebola include the IMF Resilience and Sustainability Facility that offers concessional loans. Jubilee also asserts the CCRT could do even more than cancel debt payments.