DAVOS, Switzerland (AP) 鈥 Artificial intelligence is easily the biggest buzzword for world leaders and corporate bosses diving into big ideas at the World Economic Forum鈥檚 glitzy annual meeting in Davos. Breathtaking advances in generative AI stunned the world last year, and the elite crowd is angling to take advantage of its promise and minimize its risks.
In a sign of ChatGPT maker OpenAI鈥檚 skyrocketing profile, CEO Sam Altman made his Davos debut to rock star crowds, with his benefactor, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, hot on his heels.
Illustrating AI鈥檚 geopolitical importance like few other technologies before it, the word was on the lips of world leaders from China to France. It was visible across and percolated through afterparties.
Here's a look at the buzz:
OPENAI OPENING BIG AT DAVOS
The at the AI world's much-ballyhooed chatbot maker followed Altman and Nadella to the swanky Swiss snows.
Altman's and last year cemented his position as the face of the generative AI revolution but questions about the boardroom bustup and OpenAI's governance lingered. He told a Bloomberg interviewer that he's focused on getting a 鈥済reat full board in place鈥 and deflected further questions.
At a Davos panel on technology and humanity Thursday, a question about what Altman learned from the upheaval came at the end.
鈥淲e had known that our board had gotten too small, and we knew that we didn鈥檛 have a level of experience we needed," Altman said. 鈥淏ut last year was such a wild year for us in so many ways that we sort of just neglected it.鈥
Altman added that for 鈥渆very one step we take closer to very powerful AI, everybody鈥檚 character gets, like, plus 10 crazy points. It鈥檚 a very stressful thing. And it should be because we鈥檙e trying to be responsible about very high stakes.鈥
WORLD LEADERS WANT TO LEAD THE WORLD ON AI
From China to Europe, top officials staked their positions on AI as the world grapples with regulating the rapidly developing technology that has , and privacy.
The European Union has devised ahead of a busy election year, with AI-powered misinformation and to the global economy as it threatens to erode democracy and polarize society, according to a World Economic Forum report released last week.
called AI 鈥渁 double-edged sword.鈥
鈥淗uman beings must control the machines instead of having the machines control us,鈥 he said in a speech Tuesday.
鈥淎I must be guided in a direction that is conducive to the progress of humanity, so there should be a redline in AI development 鈥 a red line that must not be crossed,鈥 Li said, without elaborating.
China, one of the world鈥檚 centers of AI development, wants to 鈥渟tep up communication and cooperation with all parties鈥 on improving global AI governance, Li said.
China has released interim regulations for managing generative AI, but the , which won a hard-fought political deal last month and awaits final sign-off.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said AI is "a very significant opportunity, if used in a responsible way.鈥
She said 鈥渢he global race is already on鈥 to develop and adopt AI, and touted the 27-nation EU's efforts, including the AI Act and a program pairing supercomputers with small and midsized businesses to train large AI models.
French President Emmanuel Macron said he's a 鈥渟trong believer鈥 in AI and that his country is 鈥渁n attractive and competitive country鈥 for the industry. He played up France's role in helping coordinate regulation on created with AI as well as plans to host a follow-up summit on AI safety after an inaugural gathering in Britain in November.
IT'S ALL IN WHAT THE GLITTERATI SEES
The letters 鈥淎I鈥 were omnipresent along the Davos Promenade, where consulting firms and tech giants are among the groups that swoop onto the main drag each year, renting out shops and revamping them into showcase pavilions.
Inside the main conference center, a giant digital wall emanated rolling images of AI art and computer-generated conceptions of wildlife and nature like exotic birds or tropical streams.
Davos-goers who wanted to delve more deeply into the technical ins and outs of artificial intelligence could drop in to sessions at the AI House.
THE WAVE OF THE FUTURE
Generative AI systems like ChatGPT and captivated the world by rapidly spewing out new poems, images and computer code and are expected to have a .
The technology could help give a boost to the , said Nadella, whose company is rolling out the technology in its products.
The Microsoft chief said he's 鈥渧ery optimistic about AI being that general purpose technology that drives economic growth."
Business leaders predicted AI will help automate mundane work tasks or make it easier for people to do advanced jobs, but they also warned that it would threaten workers who can鈥檛 keep up.
in more than 100 countries by PwC, released at the start of the Davos meetings, said 14% think they'll have to lay off staff because of the rise of generative AI.
鈥淭here isn鈥檛 an area, there isn鈥檛 an industry that鈥檚 not going to be impacted鈥 by AI, said Julie Sweet, CEO of consulting firm Accenture.
For those who can move with the change, AI promises to transform tasks like computer coding and customer relations and streamline business functions like invoicing, IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said.
鈥淚f you embrace AI, you鈥檙e going to make yourself a lot more productive,鈥 he said. 鈥淚f you do not ... you鈥檙e going to find that you do not have a job.鈥
ALSO, IT'S SEXY?
During a session featuring Meta chief AI scientist Yann LeCun, talk about risks and regulation led to the moderator's hypothetical example of 鈥渋nfinitely conversant sexbots鈥 that could be built by anyone using open source technology.
Taking the high road, LeCun replied that AI can鈥檛 be dominated by a handful of Silicon Valley tech giants if it鈥檚 going to serve people around the world with different languages, cultures and values.
鈥淵ou do not want this to be under the control of a small number of private companies,鈥 he said.
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Chan reported from London. AP Technology Writer Matt O'Brien contributed from Providence, Rhode Island.
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This story has been corrected to show the U.K. AI safety summit was in November not October.
