Opinion Notes from Davos: The bold, the bots and the bully
Carney came across as a bold and insightful voice of reason. Without mentioning Trump by name, he referred to him, stating that standing up to a bully does not mean putting up walls, but collaborating, and that if medium powers came together, they could create a powerful counterbalance to the US
Davos 2026 felt bigger than Davos 2025. Davos 2026 will go down in history as the moment the world “ruptured”. The word was heard in many speeches, alluding to Donald Trump and his antics. Two speeches that took centre stage were those of Trump and Canada’s Mark Carney, for opposite reasons. From disrespecting global leaders like Emmanuel Macron to mistakenly calling Greenland Iceland, Trump came across as a delusional child with no filter. Even though the takeaway was that Trump would not use force to take over Greenland as he had threatened, his speech, laced with insults, left a negative mark.
Carney came across as a bold and insightful voice of reason. Without mentioning Trump by name, he referred to him, stating that standing up to a bully does not mean putting up walls, but collaborating, and that if middle powers came together, they could create a powerful counterbalance to the US. A bully only holds power if people fear him. It was a bold call to action and was met with a standing ovation. Trump, on the other hand, spoke down to a room of the smartest and most influential global minds. Tim Cook, Jensen Huang, Arvind Krishna, and other US leaders lined up, showing allegiance alongside leaders from the business and political worlds. While the dignitaries took the comments in their stride, as any mature adult would, the discomfort in the room was palpable. Silent moments, uncomfortable shuffles, and many leaving prematurely. The coming days are crucial. China becomes an important ally for Europe. India cannot afford rhetorical non-alignment alone. It must aggressively seek alliances and chart a path that determines which side of history it lands on.
Beyond geopolitics, it was all about AI. Businesses questioned the tangible bottom-line impact of AI and stressed the importance of good data collection habits that would provide the foundation for AI-related benefits. Tech innovators alluded to both possibilities and limitations, inviting governments to become collaborators in supporting the transition. It was refreshing to hear Ashwini Vaishnaw defend how India was leading the race on AI, countering the IMF report that placed the US and China in Category 1 and India in Category 2. His argument, that India is investing across all five layers of AI with a focus on diffusion, the most important layer, made sense. The societal impact of AI was discussed at length, from displacement in labour markets to its effect on children. Even as the world debates banning social media for children under 16, AI is increasingly being used as an emotional crutch by children, often replacing parents or friends, which could threaten their foundational attachment systems. This may also prove detrimental to adults, jeopardising the ability to think or vote independently, and endangering democracy itself. Yuval Noah Harari painted a picture in which, ten years from now, AI bots would be speakers at Davos. He cautioned that mastery of words and logic is what gives humanity its edge, and that with AI, bots could overtake us in our own domain of strength. Financial and legal systems could become too sophisticated for any human to understand, and the power AI may wield over us should make us uncomfortable. “AI can lie. AI can manipulate.” It is not a tool in the way past inventions were, and it has agency of its own, Harari warned.
Davos 2026 felt bigger than Davos 2025. The key differences were the lack of US presence in 2025 due to elections, the overwhelming presence of Trump this year, and the change in leadership at the World Economic Forum, away from its founder Klaus Schwab to Børge Brende and Larry Fink. This shift, from a founder-led vision to a professionalised, execution focused strategy, was evident in the event’s size and scale. The small city was overwhelmed by traffic jams, excessive security requirements, and strain on its restaurant and housing infrastructure. One disappointment was the marked reduction in dialogue around climate, a sad reflection of the views of the bully who proudly claimed that “stupid people” invest in wind farms. Even outspoken leaders like Jamie Dimon shied away from calling out Trump and his reality. Fear of reprimand was evident in most American leaders. Elon Musk pushed back diplomatically, masking his dissent with wit by, asking whether the Board of Peace was about “peace” or a “piece of Greenland,” even as he delivered an optimistic vision of the future. At one end lie the marvels of discovery in medicine, space, and beyond that AI will enable. At the other are the dangers of poor decisions, on display with Trump, and the misuse and potential weaponisation of AI. Davos 2026 represents this turning point in every way, and in many ways, the simmering point too.
The writer is director, RPG Foundation
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