Energy, inequality and human impact – how can governments be AI-ready?
- Imogen Firmstone
- May 28
- 6 min read
We are pleased to share the first of two AI-focused articles by Imogen Firmstone, a Cyber expert formerly of the UK government and now Visiting Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford University. Her work sits at the intersection of geopolitics, national security and emerging technology. In this piece, Imogen examines what it will take for governments to build a truly AI-ready economy. With the pace of AI development showing no signs of slowing, Imogen argues that strategic government action is no longer optional, but an urgent imperative.
Prompt engineering... remember that? This time last year it was all the rage and early general AI adopters were excitedly testing their prompts on Chat GPT. This year, no-one even talks about it. All you have to do is type your question into Google and an AI overview of the answer is provided.
And then in January 2026, Open Claw’s Personal AI Assistant dropped into our consciousness, blowing our understanding of AI’s current capabilities out of the water and creating excitement and concern in equal measure.
Whilst AI is not new, the speed of AI innovation and its general use is new and here to stay. With the fourth industrial revolution and the rapid rise of AI, building an AI ready economy will be a crucial part of a government’s responsibility, ensuring their population is able to make the most of the opportunities of AI, whilst managing the risks. This role has never been more important, particularly given the current unstable geopolitical situation and the role AI will play not just in future geopolitical issues but also in global wealth and power distribution. In the future, when we look back and wonder what life without AI was like, it will be the foundations laid by governments now that will determine our view.
No AI without energy
Energy security is the foundational requirement for any AI-ready economy. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella highlighted recently that it is energy supply - not compute power – that is holding back AI development. The IEA projects that data centres alone will account for around half of US electricity demand growth to 2030, and the current disruption in the Strait of Hormuz has brought energy security and supply chains back into sharp relief, creating supply shocks even before we have fully understood the energy impacts of AI.
The US and China provide two contrasting case studies on how this problem can be approached. China’s strategy has been long term and very deliberate. Having spent recent years investing heavily in building energy infrastructure with a focus on renewables, China has now been able to confidently set out a five-year plan to adopt AI throughout its economy. Meanwhile the US government has supported initiatives to increase grid capacity, but it is big tech companies (Microsoft, Google, OpenAI) making the heavy investments in energy supply to support their private data centres, particularly given changes in US government policies between administrations.
Whilst it’s hard to predict, it’s possible that both approaches could fall short of demand as AI diffusion accelerates, but what is certain is that ensuring reliable, sustainable and locally appropriate energy infrastructure is a government responsibility - and one that must be planned for now.
The risk of deepening inequality
Recent studies have shown that there is, unsurprisingly, a global AI divide. According to Microsoft’s AI Economy Institute AI Diffusion Report 2025(1), approximately 1 in 6 of the world’s population now use AI tools. However, these benefits are far from evenly distributed. The AI Diffusion report show 24.7% of working age population in the Global North now using AI tools, compared with only 14.1% in the Global South. The World Bank’s AI Readiness 2025 report supports this, highlighting the significance of the ‘AI Divide’; figures show 87% of notable AI models, 86% of AI start-ups and 91% of venture capital funding being accounted for by high income countries despite having only 17% of the global population.
The World Bank Digital Progress and Trends Report 2025, Strengthening AI Foundations lays out the ‘4Cs’ of AI strategy for low- and middle-income countries - Connectivity, Compute, Context and Competency. ‘Context’ here is especially important – what works for the US, China or Japan will not necessarily work for Rwanda, Peru or Fiji. Without this bespoke approach, lower income countries stand to fall behind the AI Divide, eventually having to absorb foreign models and companies which don’t consider local language, data or context.
At the heart of this is also the government’s responsibility for protecting its people and ensuring safeguards are in place. Not all countries will be able to do this themselves, but utilising participation in blocs and international organisations to collectively ensure AI frameworks and safeguards is achievable.
AI impact on a human level
Considering AI strategy at a national government level, we can find ourselves overlooking the human impacts of this technological shift. We are well aware of the threat to jobs, the need for new skills and a labour market that could be unrecognisable in the next decade. One of the areas not talked about as much, is the need for education systems to ensure that use of AI is complemented by continued learning of critical thinking and development of cognitive capabilities. A number of recent studies including at MIT and Pennsylvania, although still undergoing peer review, suggest that cognitive decline occurs when AI is used to assist in tasks.
To manage this across a population, ensuring there are areas where critical thinking and non-AI supported cognitive engagement is required will be key to ensuring we take the benefits and not the disadvantages of AI. China, as with its energy policy has focused on building a science-tech talent pool and prioritising technical upskilling as a strategic priority.
Beyond economics and cognition, there is a broader question about what kind of society AI development serves. Earlier this week Pope Leo XIV released his much anticipated encyclical on AI, entitled Magnifica Humanitas, which called for "the protection of the human person in the age of artificial intelligence" – a statement echoing Pope Leo XIII's focus on the dignity of workers during the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century. The parallel is an intentional alarm bell – technological transformation without attention to human impact has a well-documented history of leaving the most vulnerable behind. Governments have a responsibility to ensure that AI development is not simply optimised for productivity and profit, but responds to the needs of those it will affect most.
Figure 1: AI Diffusion by Economy H2 2025
It’s time to act, here’s what to do
We cannot stop AI. But we can harness its opportunities and put frameworks in place to manage some of the most potentially damaging risks. Governments need to act strategically and soon in order to define the terms on which it transforms their economies and societies.
If I were currently advising a high income country, the priorities would be clear – address infrastructure demand before it becomes a crisis; ensure strategies are cross-government and not siloed as ‘technology’; and invest in workforce transition that goes beyond ‘digital upskilling’ to create a new jobs landscape that protects cognitive capability and uses AI for efficiency and productivity without losing sight of the value of work on a human level.
If I were sitting in Lagos, the strategy would look different – the risk here is falling behind and having AI imposed or inherited in a way that ignores local context. I would work to take steps across the 4Cs where any incremental change can make a real difference.
The UK's G20 Presidency next year offers a timely opportunity for genuine global leadership on this agenda. With diverse governments convening, this is a chance to create a shared framework for AI readiness with a human-centred approach and shared standards for governance and safety.
In her second AI-focused article, out next month, Imogen will write about what AI means for corporations, and where the real opportunities and challenges may lie. If you would like to explore how Plato Group can provide deeper analysis and support with any of the challenges and solutions discussed in this piece, then get in touch.
This thought leadership paper is published in collaboration between Imogen Firmstone and Plato Group Ltd. The usual disclaimer applies.
Imogen Firmstone
Imogen is an expert in geopolitics, diplomacy and cyber leadership. As a former senior UK diplomat, she has over two decades of experience advising governments and international partners on national security and cyber resilience. She has held leadership positions in cross-government and international efforts to counter cyber threats. Imogen is currently a Visiting Research Fellow at Pembroke College, Oxford University. She is researching decision making and effectiveness in the cyber domain within contemporary geopolitics, and the impact of technological advances such as AI and Quantum technologies on the use of cyber capabilities in an increasingly contested and technologically dynamic global environment.
Plato Group Ltd.
Plato Group is a network of policy experts, former diplomats, academics, and geopolitical advisers. Its Advisors have held senior positions in governments and central banks all over the world, as well as at the UN, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and the OSCE. They are seasoned practitioners with direct experience in advanced and emerging markets. Plato Group blends international and local expertise, providing comprehensive insights tailored to a client’s needs.
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