GZERO hits the Alps in Davos

Overview of the Congress Center ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, December 7, 2023.
Overview of the Congress Center ahead of the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland, December 7, 2023.
REUTERS/Denis Balibouse

It’s your favorite time of year again – if you’re a titan of thought leadership or a yodeler, that is. That’s right, the World Economic Forum kicks off in Davos, Switzerland, on Monday.

GZERO will be in the Swiss Alps to bring you the latest from discussions between the world’s government and business leaders, and we will be sending you special editions of the GZERO Daily over the next three Sundays. They will be filled with sparkling analysis of the summit’s main themes and discussions, video interviews, and Q&As.

Here’s a sneak peek:

“Rebuilding Trust” is the overarching theme of the 2024 conference, going beyond usual discussions of solutions to look at ways of boosting transparency, accountability, and hope for a better tomorrow.

It dovetails nicely with the hot new kid on the block: artificial intelligence. OpenAI CEO and vaunted AI guru Sam Altman will participate in a panel on safety and trust in technology (alongside this reporter’s old boss, certified Davos superstar Fareed Zakaria). One of the conference’s pillars is “Artificial intelligence as a driving force for the economy and society,” but the world’s efforts to regulate this dynamic new technology are falling far behind its exponentially growing power.

In world politics, the heaviest hitters will be French President Emmanuel Macron and Chinese Premiere Li Qiang, who will each give a special address. But Macron is the only G7 leader attending — perhaps a sign that palling around in the snow with the rich and famous isn’t winning too many votes these days.

The Biden administration is dispatching top deputies, including Secretary of State Antony Blinken and National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan. Sullivan is expected to attend a conference of peer national security advisors from allied states that will focus on a 10-point peace plan originally drafted by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky.

We’ll be there for you through every step of the action. Tschüss!

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Be sure to catch next week’s groundbreaking discussions on new technologies for global energy security in disruptive times live from the MSC Energy Security Hub at the BMW Foundation Herbert Quandt Pavilion. On Friday, Feb. 1: See the exclusive keynote by Fatih Birol, executive director of International Energy Agency, entitled “Europe’s Energy Power Struggle: Rising Demand and a New Competitive Landscape”, Join an expert panel as they discuss “Net Zero for Global Security? Geopolitics of Energy Transition and Hydrogen Trade,” featuring Leila Benali (Minister of Energy Transition and Sustainable Development of Morocco), Jennifer Morgan (State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action, German Federal Foreign Office), Rainer Quitzow (professor for Sustainability and Innovation, TU Berlin), Katherina Reiche (CEO, Westenergie AG; Chairwoman, National Hydrogen Council), Narendra Taneja (energy expert & chairman, Independent Energy Policy Institute). Saturday, Feb. 15 “Shaping Tomorrow’s Renewable Energy Paradigm in Times of Uncertainty,” the keynote by William Chueh, director, Precourt Institute for Energy, associate professor of materials science and engineering, Stanford University Plus many more panels and fireside chats. If you’re eager to explore how nations can boost their competitiveness, strengthen their economies, and create a future-proof society, sign up for our free livestream here.