7 Technology Leaders Provide A View From Davos

Predicting a focus on AI at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos wasn’t a stretch. From shaping monetary policy and global sustainability efforts to driving equitable economic growth, AI stands poised as the most impactful technological shift of our era. How we manage, deploy, and innovate upon it will set the course not just for the coming year, but for the next decade and beyond.

This year, I traveled to Switzerland to engage with leaders and executives of influential companies shaping the AI discourse. Our forum provided a platform for policymakers, government officials, business leaders, and media to discuss AI’s impact on the global economy and society.

Over five days, I met with over 40 business leaders, policymakers, and executives from leading tech companies, both large and small. To refine my perspective on the convergence of the AI economy in 2024 and beyond, I’m sharing some of their insightful contributions and access to the extended on-the-record conversations we had at this year’s World Economic Forum in Davos.

Leading Tech Industry Voices Provide Their Viewpoints on AI

Arvind Krishna, IBM Chairman & CEO:

Known for his pragmatic approach, Krishna offered a fascinating perspective on generative AI (GenAI). Sharing his viewpoint of economic expansion and productivity growth that will come with the proliferation of AI. He also focused on the critical importance of trusted AI and that the technology industry is focused on delivering not only rapid innovation but considers safety and governance to protect risk that can be associated with a technology as powerful as artificial intelligence. Krishna also shared that he believes GenAI and AI at large will be a job creator and it can increase productivity- citing McKinsey’s outlook of $4.4 trillion in economic value that AI will add by 2030.

Tom Siebel, C3.ai CEO:

C3.ai has championed enterprise AI for over 16 years. Siebel believes enterprises are finally understanding their vision, with AI becoming the fastest-growing tech innovation market. He downplays concerns about GenAI and sentinel computing, believing the probability of them posing serious threats by 2030 is low (around 50%). Instead, he focuses on real problems like social media manipulation and its consequences on mental health. He urges immediate action on these issues, not waiting to deal with this in the future. View the full conversation here.

Matt Zielenski, Lenovo President, International Markets:

Zielenski expressed how impressed he is with the pace of AI innovation and sees companies already implementing it at a significant rate. He believes it’s so much more than just a buzzword or a hype cycle, but a field with immense potential for both consumers and businesses. He anticipates a dramatic shift in our relationship with technology due to AI advancements, citing the upcoming generation of smartphones with design and functionalities still unimagined by most. View the full conversation here.

Gary Steele, Splunk CEO:

While agreeing that 2023 was the “year of AI,” Steele sees 2024 focusing on policy and security as AI rolls out in practical ways. He highlights the threat of misinformation and disinformation fueled by AI in a challenging geopolitical climate, with deepfakes and manipulated information as potential tools for malicious actors. Digital resilience and AI-powered anomaly detection are seen as crucial solutions. View the full conversation here.

Dorit Dor, Checkpoint Global CTO:

With 28+ years at Check Point and extensive experience as part of the cybersecurity conversation at Davos, Dor sees cybersecurity finally becoming a C-suite concern due to global tensions and geopolitics. She emphasizes the interconnectedness of security with developments like AI and quantum computing. Her team focuses on guarding against vulnerabilities stemming from malicious AI schemes, recognizing that both attackers and defenders will utilize AI in the future. View the full conversation here.

Asa Tamsons, Ericsson Head of Business Area and Executive Board Member:

Tamsons believes tech advancements and digital transformation go hand-in-hand with sustainability. While sustainability may not be the main theme at Davos, leaders acknowledge their commitment to measurable targets and pledges. She observes how political challenges are currently driving supply chain adjustments, similar to the shifts seen during the pandemic. She also sees AI as part of emerging technological advances reshaping manufacturing, particularly in nearshoring and reshoring initiatives. View the full conversation here.

Scott Faris, Infleqtion CEO:

With quantum officially on the agenda at Davos, Faris sees it as a natural evolution of AI and noted its commercialization progress that is taking place today. He believes quantum’s applications extend beyond computing, encompassing sensing, medical devices, and communications. It’s inevitable combination with AI promises faster, more accurate, and more reliable results, aligning with AI’s goals. Infleqtion focuses on time precision through quantum, developing products like next-generation precision clocks to speed up data communication networks and data centers. View the full conversation here and check out all of our conversations with technology leaders in Davos on our View from Davos landing page.

The Year of Implementation: AI Takes Center Stage

As we entered 2024, I declared it the “year of implementation.” Whereas 2023 focused on building the necessary infrastructure for AI, 2024 would be the year when enterprises, public sectors, non-profits, and even individual consumers would begin to leverage AI’s significant efficiency and productivity gains.

This trend was further confirmed by our Futurum Intelligence data, which revealed a strong inclination among our panel of enterprise IT leaders to increase their spending on AI. They anticipate a 300% increase in implementation spending, reaching into the multiple millions across various businesses.

Furthermore, discussions at Davos emphasized real-world, achievable AI implementations rather than more distant, science-fiction-like concepts like artificial general intelligence (AGI). While AGI and other salient technologies will likely play a role in the future, 2024’s focus lies on using AI responsibly and developing policies to manage its proliferation.

Reaching an Inflection Point

Through numerous on- and off-the-record discussions at Davos, it became undeniably clear: we have reached an inflection point with AI. It is poised to transform how businesses and governments operate, presenting complex decisions regarding security, data privacy, ethics, intellectual property rights, and more.

While some topics discussed at Davos may fade into the background, rest assured that artificial intelligence will remain a critical discussion point for the foreseeable future.