By: Faris Al Hadidi
Economist and banker
Jordan Daily - Artificial intelligence is no longer a technology story. It is becoming an economic story.
Across the world, governments are no longer asking whether AI will change their economies. They are asking how quickly they can harness it to improve productivity, strengthen competitiveness, and create better jobs. For Jordan, this shift comes at an important time. After years of moderate economic growth, Jordan needs new sources of productivity if it is to raise living standards and compete more effectively in an increasingly digital global economy.
Jordan starts from a stronger position than many people assume. The country has a well-educated workforce, a competitive ICT sector, and a banking industry that has consistently embraced digital transformation despite operating in a difficult regional environment. Yet productivity growth has remained modest. More investment alone is not enough to solve this challenge. The real opportunity lies in producing more value from the resources the country already has.
The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates that AI will influence roughly 40 percent of jobs worldwide, with even greater effects in advanced economies. Importantly, the IMF does not view AI simply as a replacement for workers. Instead, it argues that the greatest economic gains will come from using AI to enhance human capabilities and improve productivity. The World Bank reaches a similar conclusion, emphasizing that digital technologies can help developing economies improve public services, strengthen businesses, and build greater economic resilience when supported by appropriate investments in infrastructure and skills.
The numbers being discussed are large, but the real importance of AI is not the size of the forecast. It is the possibility of improving productivity across many sectors at the same time. Some global estimates suggest that AI could add as much as US$15.7 trillion to the world economy by 2030 through higher productivity and increased consumption. While such projections naturally involve uncertainty, they reflect a broader reality: AI is rapidly becoming a general-purpose technology with the potential to reshape almost every sector of the economy.
Over the recent years, Jordan’s banking sector has invested significantly in digital banking platforms, cybersecurity, electronic payments, and customer onboarding. Digital banking is no longer enough. The next competitive advantage will come from how intelligently banks use the enormous amount of data they already possess. AI is beginning to improve fraud detection, strengthen anti-money laundering systems, support credit assessment, and enhance customer service. Perhaps even more importantly, it allows professionals to spend less time on repetitive tasks and more time exercising judgment, advising clients, and making strategic decisions. AI can make expertise more productive.
For many years, most professional analytics and automation were available only to large corporations with substantial technology budgets. That barrier is disappearing. Affordable cloud-based AI applications are allowing smaller businesses to automate administrative tasks, improve marketing, forecast demand, and better understand customer needs and behaviors. These new technologies could help narrow the productivity gap that has long separated smaller firms from larger enterprises.
AI cannot compensate for poor data. Poor-quality data or fragmented information systems can limit the value of even the most advanced AI applications. Investing in data governance may therefore prove just as important as investing in AI itself.
Education will also play a decisive role. Universities and vocational institutions need to prepare graduates for a labor market in which AI becomes a routine workplace tool. This requires more than producing software engineers. Professionals in banking, healthcare, manufacturing, government, and many other sectors will increasingly need to understand how to work alongside AI, interpret its outputs, and apply them responsibly.
Singapore, Estonia, and the United Arab Emirates have made AI a national priority by combining investment in digital infrastructure with workforce development and supportive regulation. Jordan's circumstances are different, so copying another country's strategy would make little sense. However, these examples demonstrate that successful AI adoption requires long-term planning rather than isolated projects.
At the same time, AI should not be viewed as a substitute for sound economic policy. Sustainable growth will continue to depend on macroeconomic stability, structural reforms, private-sector investment, and a competitive business environment. No technology can replace sound economic policy. It is a powerful tool that can increase their impact.
Jordan has reached an important moment. The debate is no longer about whether artificial intelligence will influence the economy, it already is. The real question is whether the country can use it to raise productivity, improve competitiveness, and create better opportunities for future generations. Jordan's AI opportunity will not depend on creating the world's most advanced technology. It will depend on how effectively businesses, government institutions, and professionals use existing technologies to solve real economic challenges and improve productivity.
