Can Davos End Divide?

Every January in the beautiful mountain town of Davos, Switzerland, the World Economic Forum (WEF) hosts an event where the global leaders and thinkers discuss current issues. The Davos Summit is the flagship event of WEF and all eyes are centered on the event to tackle major global problems. It is a week that sees intensive dialogue between global heads of state, civil society and corporate leaders. 

This year, the theme was “A Spirit of Dialogue” with a focus on delivery, execution and resilience, as the summit held discussions on AI and climate change, among others. Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, was one of the eminent attendees and his interview on technology, especially AI, made global headlines. It was, in fact, Musk’s rare appearance in Davos, so the audience was all ears to hear what he had to say. Musk asserted that AI would ultimately be smarter than any individual by the end of 2026 and surpass the collective humanity’s intelligence within five years. 

The statement that AI would be smarter than collective humanity turned heads but then Musk is known for his controversial statements. Musk also said that AI would lead to economic advantages but it didn’t bode well with many, as currently, the AI race has seen the economic divide between the rich and the poor increase even more. Since AI continues to evolve, it was a subject of much discussion at Davos.

It has to be noted that this year the talk around climate change centred on extreme adaptation, generating concerns that the 1.5 degrees Celsius target has become increasingly difficult to meet. With timely thought, the focus was on adapting world infrastructure to survive a relatively hotter world as climate change shifts to more erratic and unpredictable consequences, many of which are already being seen around the world. The year 2025 was one of the worst years in terms of wildfires in cities such as Los Angeles, which destroyed huge numbers of homes and properties, leading to the displacement of its residents. 

Talks were thus held on the escalating climate change and with foresight, the climate agenda shifted from carbon targets to systemic resilience. With the escalation of AI, water conservation will lead the climate change policies in the coming days. And it seemed apparent with the Get Blue initiative that aims to secure access to safe water sources as the base for economic growth in the future. Likewise, ACT Ocean (Accelerating Critical Transformations for the Ocean) was launched for a sustainable ocean economy. 

Throughout January 19-23, world leaders, civic society representatives and corporates brainstormed in Davos amid global media reportage. With the rift between Europe and the United States growing, there were simmering tensions in the event. However, the Davos Summit concluded with optimism, such as the report called, Opportunities for Action according to which middle powers like India, Brazil and Indonesia could be stepping up in a rapidly changing world order. 

Even as French President Emmanuel Macron’s aviators took the internet by storm this year, the conclusion of the meeting saw important deals, policies and decisions being made. Given the state of the world, this signals positivity. Let us hope that the outcomes of Davos 2026 will secure peace and prosperity for the global citizens in this increasingly divided world.