The World Economic Forum begins this Monday in Switzerland, putting the conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza and disinformation generated by artificial intelligence on the agenda. Climate change and global debt should also have space on the panels. The rich and powerful from around the world are traveling to the idyllic resort town of Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum.
In 2024, the annual event comes at a time when the world is witnessing devastating wars in Gaza and Ukraine, advances in artificial intelligence (AI) – causing both excitement and concern – a debt crisis against a backdrop of economic slowdown and deterioration of health. of the planet.
More than 2,800 participants are expected to attend the five-day event which begins this Monday (15/01). Among them are more than 60 heads of state and government: this year President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva will not travel to Davos, just as he did not in 2023. The slogan of the meeting of global political and economic leaders, celebrities and prominent social media activists will cover “Rebuilding Trust”.
“The theme is a direct response to the erosion of trust that is evident in societies and between nations,” Forum director general Mirek Dusek explained in a press conference.
According to him, some can link the fractures directly to “profound transformations around us, be they geopolitical, geoeconomic or related to climate and nature”.
Gaza and Ukraine top the agenda
Among the main political leaders participating will be French President Emmanuel Macron, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and Chinese Prime Minister Li Qiang. The new president of Argentina, Javier Milei, is also expected to participate.
The United States will be represented by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who will be joined by, among others, Israeli President Isaac Herzog and Qatari Prime Minister Mohammed Bin Abdulrahman Al Thani to discuss ways to end the conflict in Gaza and avoid a further escalation, as many fear.
The war in Ukraine is expected to feature prominently this year as well. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is expected to attend the meeting in person, aiming to drum up support for his country as key allies the United States and the European Union (EU) struggle to release billions in crucial aid to Kiev.
Economic malaise and debt crisis
Slow economic growth and persistent cost-of-living crises amid higher interest rates are hitting people hard around the world. The World Bank recently warned that the global economy is on track to end 2024 with half the decade with the slowest GDP growth in 30 years.
While global recession fears have eased thanks to robust growth in the United States, there are fears that rising geopolitical tensions could derail the recovery. The slowdown in China, the world’s second largest economy, has also clouded the prospects of many developing countries in Africa and Asia.
Another issue that is likely to dominate the agenda is the colossal levels of debt that developing economies, many of them in Africa, have accumulated in recent years to deal with various crises, such as the Covid-19 pandemic, energy shortages and climate change.
According to the United Nations, 3.3 billion people currently live in countries that spend more on interest payments than on education or healthcare. Many developing countries are seeing their financial coffers under pressure due to high food and energy costs and higher financing costs.
The state of the economy and the debt crisis will be at the top of the agenda of African leaders, expected in large numbers, led by Nigerian President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and his Kenyan counterpart William Ruto.
Leonard Stiegeler, a member of the “Africa Collective”, a platform that promotes African interests to global investors, explains that, regarding Africa, “the issue of building trust on the continent continues to be treated as a vibrant center of current and future opportunities, especially considering the size of its population.”
“In addition to the creation of jobs and skilled manpower, Africa is a place to consider and this is something that African leaders must promote,” he stressed.
Artificial intelligence is a key topic
The boom in artificial intelligence, which creates both opportunities and headaches for regulators, is a major theme this year, with a series of panels dedicated to the technological revolution.
An annual risk survey released Wednesday by the World Economic Forum identified AI-driven disinformation as the biggest danger over the next two years.
The survey says “the relationship between disinformation and social unrest will be in focus” this year, when major economies such as the US, EU and India go to the polls.
“We would definitely be paranoid about new technologies and other cutting-edge issues,” Dusek said. “And establish public-private dialogue and cooperation on these issues now, so that we don’t fall behind, as some would say the world is doing when it comes to generative artificial intelligence.”
Source: Terra
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