AI Dominates Discussion in Davos
Top Themes at the 2024 World Economic Forum Annual Meeting
It is no surprise that Artificial Intelligence was the hottest topic in Davos for the
2024 Annual Meeting. From world leaders to business executives, from tech experts to philanthropists, everyone wanted to discuss what the AI revolution means for their industry.The theme of this 54th Session was officially “Rebuilding Trust” and included four thematic tracks:
- Achieving Security and Cooperation in a Fractured World
- Creating Growth and Jobs for a New Era
- Artificial Intelligence as a Driving Force for the Economy and Society
- A Long-Term Strategy for Climate, Nature and Energy
However, despite only 29 of the 233 sessions being a part of the AI track, by our count, over half of all discussions made some mention of the emerging technology.
Let’s break down what people were discussing in Davos, both in regard to artificial intelligence and across other topics.
- Predictions on Future Development
- Opportunities for Innovation
- Potential Dangers
- Differing Views on Regulation
- Changes to the Workforce
Different Takes on Technology
Part of what makes artificial intelligence such a titillating topic is the breadth of its potential impact. From investment opportunities to major workforce realignment, there is a lot to talk about.
We found AI conversations at WEF tended to focus on one of five angles: technology predictions, opportunities for innovation, potential dangers, regulation, and workforce changes.
Predictions on Future Development
It’s clear that AI, particularly generative models like ChatGPT, will continue to grow in the coming months and years. The question that remains is what will that growth look like?
Most experts expect that top models will continue to expand with increased training data and parameters. However, there is also promising development on slimmer, more focused models that require less computational power to be effective and that can even be run on users’ devices. It remains to be seen which approach will be most disruptive.
Additionally, the question of whether open source or proprietary models will see the most increase in adoption may significantly alter the economic implications of these innovations.
These unknowns are just the tip of the iceberg. If you only watch one session to know more on this aspect of the AI discussion, we recommend:
The Expanding Universe of Generative Models
Opportunities for Innovation
Every industry is expected to experience some change due to the proliferation of AI tools. While some are expressing concerns about what such a significant disruption may mean, others see it as an inevitable technological jump that promises to bring rapid innovation.
There were several sessions exploring the potential implications of these innovations, but none as directly as this one which asks if AI will be a paradigm shifter on par with fire, the printing press, or the steam engine:
Generative AI: Steam Engine of the Fourth Industrial Revolution?
Potential Dangers
As with any transformative technology, AI has the potential to do good or inflict harm. While job security is a real risk, which we will discuss later, the deliberate use of AI for purposes of mis/disinformation is a major concern to many, especially with so many elections set to place in 2024.
It was apparent that even the staunchest AI supporters understood the potential risks, even if they were not as overt in discussing them as the panelists in this session:
Protecting Democracy against Bots and Plots
Differing Views on Regulations
With such high potential for both advancements and disruption, the topic of regulating AI is one that elicits a variety of responses. We found the crowd at WEF generally preferred less regulation, but not everyone was on board with an absolute laissez faire approach.
For most, the goal was to limit the potential dangers without restricting the possibility for innovation. It is a fine line to walk and we feel the following sessions did that best:
Changes to the Workforce
While estimates vary, most experts expect between a quarter and a half of all jobs globally to either be replaced through AI or require significant retraining. In looking through transcripts of this year’s annual meeting, we found over 20 sessions that discussed AI “automation” and “augmentation” and the need to “reskill” or “upskill” employees, making this one of the most active sub-topics within AI.
If you prefer a forum discussion, we recommend watching The Race to Reskill. However, if you are like us and appreciate the raw numbers, we suggest you follow:
Topics Beyond AI
In addition to the fervor around artificial intelligence, discussions around conflicts and division as well as climate change and green tech rounded out the key topics at the WEF Annual Meeting.
Conflicts and Division
From fighting in the Middle East, to the invasion of Ukraine, the impact of global conflicts shaped many of the conversations happening in Davos. Additionally, participants frequently highlighted concerns around internal political tensions and growing inequality.
To follow this part of the global conversation, we recommend:
Climate Change and Green Tech
With one of the four primary themes being related to combating climate change and advancing green technologies, it is not surprising that keywords related to these topics kept surfacing.
The complete list of related sessions is available here, but if only have time for one, may we suggest:
Learn More
As always, Davos was awash with a variety of conversations from a pleathora of exports. We encourage you catch up on what you might have missed. You can follow up on all of the sessions, not just those we have highlight here, by going to the WEF Annual Meeting website:
https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2024
Additionally, select sessions are available as a playlist on WEF’s Youtube channel.
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