The World Economic Forum was started by the academic Klaus Schwab in 1971. The forum is known for its annual meeting, every January in Davos, a mountain resort in Graubünden, in the Alps region of Switzerland. His idea behind the gathering was to spark off ideas and conversations. The meeting brings together over 2,000 top political leaders, business leaders, economists, celebrities and journalists for about four days to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world.
In recent years, big technology trends has become more central to key discussions. This year it was Artificial Intelligence…and for good reason. AI was on the lips of almost all corporate chief and policy maker attending this year’s conference in Davos. The term "artificial intelligence" appeared in over 20 headlines and stories worldwide by Bloomberg. In which it ran about the gathering.
Davos
Some of the historical statement and position made by big wigs include the following:
1 Jack Ma (CEO Alibaba)
He warned how disruptive artificial intelligence and Big Data is going to be:
“We are very lucky because the world is in a big transformation because of technology. This new technology will create a lot of successful people, interesting careers but honestly every new technology will create social problems.”
He also voiced his concern for Job security:
"AI and robots are going to "kill a lot of jobs" and could start a third world war. "Each technology revolution has made the world unbalanced"
2 Johan Aurik (A.T. Kearney consulting)
Talked about the Corporate importance:
“AI could automate a large portion of corporate decision-making. Most managers spend time on administrative coordination and control, not strategic thinking or problem-solving. Most of those administrative tasks could be handled by AI”
3 Theresa May (UK prime minister)
She announced plans for a new government funded center to advice on the ethical use of IA. She also mentioned the advantages.
“Imagine a world in which self-driving cars radically reduce the number of deaths on our roads. Imagine a world where remote monitoring and inspection of critical infrastructure makes dangerous jobs safer. Imagine a world where we can predict and prevent the spread of diseases around the globe”
4 Sundar Pichai (CEO Google)
“AI is going to be more important than humanity’s mastery of fire or electricity”
He also talked about AI's risks:
"The risks are substantial, but the way you solve it is by looking ahead, thinking about it, thinking about AI safety from day one, and to be transparent and open about how we pursue it,"
5 Kai-Fu Lee (former CEO Google China)
Spoke about the fear of missing out. He said:
”Executives shouldn’t let human-resources departments tell them they can’t afford the high salaries AI experts command. You’ve got to break the scale for at least one person with the right know-how”
Thanks for reading.
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