Global South AI optimism higher, Google's Manyika says

James Manyika's remarks at Semafor's Next 3 Billion event frame the Global South as a region where AI is viewed not through the lens of Western concerns but through its potential to make a difference. He contrasted this with growing pushback on AI in the US, particularly against data centers, while acknowledging that infrastructure and access remain challenges. The examples he gave are not hypothetical: Google Translate now works in 300 languages, and Google's Planetary Prediction Engine predicted Ebola outbreaks in the Democratic Republic of the Congo with 83% accuracy. He also noted that nearly 40% of tuberculosis cases go undiagnosed, a gap concentrated in the Global South, and said Google spent a long year working in Zambia and India to show AI can help. Manyika's point was that these examples are real now, not in some far future. Whether that optimism translates into broader adoption will hinge on whether such projects move beyond showcase countries and on closing the infrastructure and access gaps he flagged.