Can the IMF adapt to a world transformed by debt and AI?

High public debt, AI and non-bank financial institutions are reshaping economic systems

Summarise
    • IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva says the eventual dividend from AI remains uncertain, but it could widen inequality within and between countries.
    • IMF managing director Kristalina Georgieva says the eventual dividend from AI remains uncertain, but it could widen inequality within and between countries. PHOTO: CMG
    Published Mon, Oct 12, 2026 · 07:00 AM

    AS FINANCE ministers and central bank governors gather in Bangkok, Thailand, for the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank annual meetings starting Monday (Oct 12), they will confront a global economy increasingly different from the one for which today’s international financial architecture was designed.

    The backdrop is sobering. The recent G20 finance ministers’ meeting struggled to reach consensus, including over global imbalances and sovereign debt – precisely the issues requiring greater international cooperation.

    The challenge for Bangkok is not to recreate the old multilateral order, but to make cooperation work in a more fragmented world.