The future of AI will not be won by the richest countries. The UN warns it could split the world in two: are you ready for the divide, or the leapfrog?In Episode 19 of The AI Values Podcast, Edosa Odaro and Lindley Gooden take on one of the most contrarian questions in AI governance right now: does AI actually favour legacy economic power, or does it hand a genuine advantage to agile, fast-learning nations and organisations that the West assumed were left behind? Drawing on real examples of AI leapfrogging already underway, they challenge the assumption that AI regulation and AI policy will simply entrench the same countries and companies that led the last three technology waves.THIS WEEK: A HEAD-TO-HEAD. No guest this week, just Edosa and Lindley working the same problem from two angles: can leapfrog economies genuinely overtake legacy Western infrastructure, or is the UN's warned "next great divergence" already locking in a new global AI divide.WHAT IS COVERED► Edosa and Lindley open with a provocative reframe of AI governance: the advantage does not go to the richest countries. It goes to the fastest learners, and that changes who actually leads the future of AI.► They trace real leapfrog economies already in motion, from mobile phones overtaking landlines in Africa to solar power overtaking fossil infrastructure in Southeast Asia and fintech overtaking traditional banking in Latin America.► A mid-size health tech organisation built and rolled out a clinician-trusted diagnostic system faster than global medical giants could move. The lesson: agility beats legacy capital, and it is already happening in AI adoption.► The conversation turns to the UN's warning on "the next great divergence", the risk that legacy economies lock in a permanent AI monopoly while leapfrog economies are left with nothing left to jump over.► Edosa's closing line sums up the whole episode: "AI doesn't actually reward power. What it rewards is clarity." Clarity of purpose, data, process and values is the real foundation for responsible AI leadership, not raw compute.⏰ EPISODE TIMESTAMPS00:00 - Future of AI: Why Agility, Not Legacy Power, Is the Real Fuel00:24 - AI Governance's Old Assumption Gets Flipped: Nations Leapfrog Instead of Follow 00:50 - AI Policy Blind Spot: The Fastest Learners Beat the Richest Countries 03:16 - Why Legacy Capital No Longer Guarantees AI Dominance 06:00 - Agile Health Tech Beats Global Medical Giants: The Finland AI Lesson07:46 - Mobile, Solar and Fintech: How Leapfrogging Actually Happened Before 09:40 - The Next Great Divergence: The UN's Warning on an AI Monopoly12:14 - Clarity of Values, Not Power, Is What Lets You Leapfrog#TheAIValuesPodcast #AIGovernance #ResponsibleAI #podcast #AILeapfrogging──────────────────────────────────────ABOUT THE AI VALUES PODCAST:The AI Values Podcast is where leaders come to think clearly about the trade-offs behind AI adoption not just the opportunities. Hosted by Edosa Odaro (author, 'The Values of AI') and Lindley Gooden (author, 'The Future of Truth'), with weekly conversations at the intersection of AI, trust, governance, and the future of work.🎙 SUBSCRIBE to The AI Values Podcast for honest, rigorous conversations at the intersection of AI ethics, AI governance, and business leadership.◼ Find out more about The AI Values Institute ◼ Reach out: podcast@theaivalues.org ◼ Co-Hosts: Edosa Odaro & Lindley Gooden