Adverse outcomes of AI technologies is ranked in the Global Risks Perception Survey 2025- 2026 (GRPS) as among the most consequential long-term global risks and the one with the largest upward shift across all 33 risks surveyed, from #30 in the two-year outlook to #5 over the 10-year horizon. Over time, the diffusion of generative and agentic AI systems has the potential to transform economies and, while the opportunities and benefits are vast, there are also risks that could manifest rapidly due to market forces, geopolitical pressures and slow development of governance frameworks. Both the opportunities and risks associated with AI will be unevenly distributed. Access to AI infrastructure151 as well as to electricity, internet access and data storage will amplify economic power shifts between countries over the next decade as AI's productivity benefits bypass some populations entirely152- albeit protecting them from some of the risks. For example, AI adoption in North America (27% of the working-age population) is triple that in Sub-Saharan Africa (9%).153 Only a handful of AI data centres are in developing regions, with the United States, Europe and Eastern Asia dominating capacity.154 Within countries, the gap between AI-integrated geographies and excluded peripheries may also drive localized power shifts, create internal migration pressures and destabilize national cohesion. This section explores three sets of risks. First, the widely cited concerns around the impact on labour markets could lead to deepening societal polarization if unemployment rises and workers struggle to adapt to new tasks and roles. In such a scenario, both higher productivity and higher unemployment could unfold simultaneously. Second, as more tasks become undertaken by Anastassia Anufrieva, Unsplash AI and previously applied human skills begin to atrophy, it is unclear if the path forward will be a golden age for creativity, leisure and learning – or, conversely, a drift into purposelessness, apathy and societal decay. In an extreme scenario, control over many aspects of society could be ceded to AI. Third, with militaries’ reliance on AI systems continuing to increase, the potential for misuse or mistakes will rise, too, placing human lives directly at risk. What distinguishes AI-driven disruption from previous technological transitions is the potential Taufiq Dzikri, Unsplash Global Risks Report 2026 61