Davos 2024: key takeaways and concerns in responsible technology
AI dominated conversations and panels at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos (Jan 15–19). From economic enclaves and science corners to policy and governance debates across conference domains, executives and global voices were seemingly all compelled to address the AI moment.
originally published in January 2024 under the University of Cambridge newsletter “The Good Robot Podcast”
While many of these dialogues were meshed in commercial opportunities, ethics discussions also had their day. “There’s a chance to find some ethical solutions to the AI dilemmas we’re facing,” said Oleg Lavrovsky (VP of Opendata.ch), “I hope that people here will be inspired to open up to each other and find some good bridges across science and industry and governance.”
A central topic here is the concern of whether AI would help or hamper structural inequality across the world. Economic experts weighed in on the tightening of financial conditions and regional development opportunities encountered by widespread AI and recent tech advances at a challenging moment. Al Jazeera reported on a WEF-Davos survey of chief economists, saying, “Economists predict weakened global economic conditions while technology will help promote differences across regions.”
A new report this month by the IMF signaled that 60% of advanced economy jobs would be impacted by AI, whereas low-income countries would realize a 26% impact. As AI tools’ earliest adoption and learning allow economies and governments more time to adapt, AI’s slower uptake for productivity improvements in these countries is a serious inequality concern. The report considered, “This could exacerbate the digital divide and cross-country income disparity.”
At the end of Davos, the World Economic Forum’s AI Governance Alliance released three papers to confront equitable access concerns and proposals that will minimize “widening existing digital divides”.
Here’s four of the Key Takeaways from Davos according to the WeForum:
- Leaders need to ‘pull together’
- ‘Projections are not destiny’
- ‘Humans are going to have better tools’
- ‘Urgency is our only saviour’
Further listening + reading from Davos:
