Sri Lanka, Oct. 8 -- Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda called for greater investment in scientific research and the infrastructure needed to turn discoveries into practical gains for people, pointing to ADB's $50 billion Pan-Asia Power Grid Initiative and $20 billion Asia-Pacific Digital Highway as examples of the infrastructure investment already under way.

"Let us fund the curiosity that unlocks the breakthroughs of tomorrow," Kanda said. "Let us build the grids and the digital highways that connect our divided world. And let us summon the ambition to turn frontier science and AI into human progress."

Kanda made the call at the Science and Technology in Society (STS) Forum in Kyoto on Sunday, where he joined leading ...