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Are leaders asking the right questions about AI?
The official theme of the 2024 World Economic Forum held recently in Davos, Switzerland, was “Rebuilding Trust” in an increasingly fragmented world. But unofficially, the hottest topic on the icy slopes was artificial intelligence.
Hundreds of private sector companies convened to pitch new products and business solutions powered by AI, and nearly two dozen panel discussions featured “AI” in their titles. There was even an “AI House” on the main promenade, just blocks from the Congress Center, where world leaders and CEOs gathered.
So, there were many conversations about the rapidly evolving technology. But were they the right ones?
GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to Marietje Schaake, a former member of the EU parliament who now leads an AI policy program at Stanford. Their conversation focused on the human side of AI and what it could mean for jobs and the workforce.
A recent study from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that as many as 40% of jobs worldwide could be adversely impacted by AI. Schaake said that kind of upheaval could lead to political unrest and a further rise in populism and encouraged corporations and public sector leaders alike to find solutions now before the equality gap further widens.
Watch the full GZERO World episode: Al Gore on US elections & climate change
Catch GZERO World with Ian Bremmer every week at http://gzeromedia.com/gzeroworld or on US public television. Check local listings.
AI's potential to impact election is cause for concern - EU's Eva Maydell
EU Parliamentarian Eva Maydell says AI's potential impact on the world's biggest year of elections keeps her up at night. And it's a valid worry—AI's ability to create and disseminate deceptive content at lightning speed means our society can be divided and radicalized faster than ever.
Speaking in a GZERO Global Stage discussion from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, EU Parliamentarian Evan Maydell shares her concerns about the weaponization of AI and other emerging technologies in such a massive global election year.
“I'm worried about deceptive content that can be created faster, can be disseminated faster, and it can divide, and it can radicalize our society,” she said.
The conversation was part of the Global Stage series, produced by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft. These discussions convene heads of state, business leaders, technology experts from around the world for critical debate about the geopolitical and technology trends shaping our world.
Watch the full conversation here: How is the world tackling AI, Davos' hottest topic?
Grown-up AI conversations are finally happening, says expert Azeem Azhar
“The thing that’s surprised me most is how well CEOs are [now] articulating generative AI, this technology that’s only been public for a year or so,” Azhar says,” “I’ve never experienced that in my life and didn’t realize how quickly they’ve moved.”
Azhar and Bremmer also discuss the underlying technology that’s allowed generative AI tools like ChatGPT-4 to advance so quickly and where conversations about applications of artificial intelligence go from here. Whereas a year ago, experts were focused on the macro implications of existential risk, Azhar is excited this year to hear people focus on practical things like copyright and regulation—the small yet impactful things that move the economy and change how we live our lives.
Catch Azeem Azhar's full conversation with Ian Bremmer in next week's episode of GZERO World on US public television. Check local listings.
AI's impact on jobs could lead to global unrest, warns AI expert Marietje Schaake
The 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos was dominated by conversations about AI and its potential as well as possible pitfalls for society. GZERO’s Tony Maciulis spoke to former European Union parliamentarian Marietje Schaake about the current regulatory landscape, a recent report from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) saying as many as 40% of jobs globally could be lost or impacted by AI, and how that might give rise to unrest as we head into a critical year of elections.
Marietje Schaake, International Policy Fellow, Stanford Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence, and former European Parliamentarian, co-hosts GZERO AI, our new weekly video series intended to help you keep up and make sense of the latest news on the AI revolution. Sign up for the GZERO AI weekly newsletter to keep up with all things AI and find out when new episodes are published.
For more about AI at this year's World Economic Forum, watch our Global Stage discussion, Making AI Work for the World.
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How is the world tackling AI, Davos' hottest topic?
It’s the big topic at Davos: What the heck are we going to do about artificial intelligence? Governments just can’t seem to keep up with the pace of this ever-evolving technology—but with dozens of elections scheduled for 2024, the world has no time to lose.
GZERO and Microsoft brought together folks who are giving the subject a great deal of thought for a Global Stage event on the ground in Switzerland, including Microsoft’s Brad Smith, EU Member of Parliament Eva Maydell, the UAE’s AI Minister Omar Sultan al Olama, the UN Secretary’s special technology envoy Amandeep Singh Gill, and GZERO Founder & President Ian Bremmer, moderated by CNN’s Bianna Golodryga.
The opportunities presented by AI could revolutionize healthcare, education, scientific research, engineering – just about every human activity. But the technology threatens to flood political discourse with disinformation, victimize people through scams or blackmail, and put people out of work. A poll of over 2,500 GZERO readers found a 45% plurality want to see international cooperation to develop a regulatory framework.
The world made great strides in AI regulation in 2023, perhaps most prominently in the European Union’s AI Act. But implementation and enforcement are a different game, and with every passing month, AI gets more powerful and more difficult to rein in.
So where do these luminaries see the path forward? Tune in to our full discussion from the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, above.
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Global Stage at Davos 2024: live premiere tomorrow at 11 am ET
Join Microsoft and GZERO Media for the premiere of Making AI Work for the World tomorrow, January 18 at 11 am ET/8 am PT/5 pm CET, recorded live at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland this morning.
Bianna Golodryga, Anchor & Senior Global Affairs Analyst at CNN, moderated the Global Stage discussion about the rapid development of AI technologies and the race to regulate them with Brad Smith, Vice Chair & President, Microsoft; Ian Bremmer, President & Co-founder, Eurasia Group & GZERO Media; Eva Maydell, Member of European Parliament, Bulgarian politician, Speaker for the EU Special Committee on Artificial Intelligence; Amandeep Singh Gill, UN Tech Envoy; and Omar Sultan al Olama, UAE Minister of State for Artificial Intelligence.
Watch the live premiere at gzeromedia.com/globalstage.
Davos 2024: China, AI & key topics dominating at the World Economic Forum
Ian Bremmer's Quick Take: Hi, everybody. Ian Bremmer here in Davos, Switzerland, for the kickoff of the World Economic Forum, 54th annual, though I haven’t been coming for quite that long. Lots going on here, of course, lots of concerns given ongoing wars as backdrop.
The big story so far, I would say, is that the Chinese are in force, 140 members of the delegation, ten ministers showing up, all with economic portfolios, and they want to engage. This is about a near state visit with the Swiss government, a trade agreement, and basically talking to a bunch of foreign direct investors, many of whom are saying, “Hey, we don't think you guys are so investible; we're going more into India and Vietnam and Mexico.” And the Chinese recognizing that they need to put up and make life easier for them. That has been interesting.
The Americans, especially the American government, very skeptical about all of this, of course, but in the near-term at least, don't have a major crisis, especially on the back of recent Taiwan elections. A lot of people are expecting a crisis there. Both sides trying to manage it. On the more negative camp, Ukrainian President Zelensky coming shortly. 83 states participated in an effort at some kind of peace negotiations just yesterday. Perfectly friendly meeting, absolutely no movement towards any diplomacy. The Russians aren't there, the Chinese aren't there, and the Ukrainians aren't going to accept anything that's remotely acceptable to the Russians as a party. What that means, of course, is that the Ukrainians are feeling increasingly desperate, that they need to make sure they get the support to defend themselves at a time that the Europeans are worried about spending the money and the Americans are divided about spending the money.
A little good news there, Senator Chris Murphy was supposed to be part of the big congressional delegation that comes to Davos every year from the US, didn't show up at the last minute. The reason is because they are working and making progress to get that additional budget deal done in Washington that would provide for some border security money, also provide for money, $60 billion for Ukraine, help them defend themselves in 2024. It's not what Trump wants to see, but he's not the Republican nominee yet, so the consequence is there is still movement.
Other final thing here that's getting a lot of a lot of attention is artificial intelligence. Of course, because it's the World Economic Forum, you mostly have people that are selling their new companies, but there's a lot of money behind them, a lot of enthusiasm. And unlike most flavor of the month type technologies, this is affecting pretty much every company in every sector here. So you can't go to a corporation or a bank and not have an AI related conversation as part of your bilateral. That's pretty interesting. 15 years of coming here, I've never seen anything like it. I'm kind of optimistic. Even though the technology is moving a lot faster than the governments.
Anyway, that's it kicking off this week at the World Economic Forum. I hope everyone is doing well, and I'll talk to you all real soon.
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Graphic of bar graphs showing the levels of government trust and distrust
Graphic Truth: Who trusts the government?
Switzerland – which has the highest degree of trust in government – is leading by example as the host of this year’s Davos summit focused on Rebuilding Trust. Political stability, as well as government responsiveness and openness, help boost trust in governance. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the Land of William Tell, one of the most stable countries in the world, is brimming with it.
The same cannot be said for leaders of many of the other countries represented at Davos. Risk factors for distrust in governance? Economic inequality, corruption, and political instability, and a whopping57% of people around the world believe their leaders are trying to mislead them. In 2023, Pew found that only 15% of Americans trusted their government to do the right thing – down 7% from 2022.
These numbers are harrowing, but let’s see if the Swiss can rub off on them …