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On the last day of meetings at the Davos Forum, world leaders reinforced their speeches to seek options regarding the war in Ukraine, the recent conflict in the Middle East, climate challenges and the scenario of uncertainty regarding artificial intelligence (AI). . At the end of the meeting, they talked about former United States President Donald Trump and the high probability that he will once again be at the head of the largest economy in the world and one of the main actors in the still unresolved war conflicts.
The event that brought together business and political elites in the cold Swiss mountains of Davos (Switzerland) culminated in the discussion of several current geopolitical problems.
The economic congress was held under the motto of “rebuilding trust”, with a panorama marked by the war between Russia and Ukraine and the outbreak of hostilities in Gaza after the attack by the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas on Israel, on October 7, 2023. .
The magnitude of these conflicts and the way they are addressed in Davos is one of the reasons that makes some experts conclude that The event only focuses on announcements that can rarely end in agreements that transcend, as Rich Lesser, president of Boston Consulting Group, explained to the AP agency:
“It is not realistic to think that Davos, or any meeting, anywhere in the world, can rebuild trust, when it is fragmented in so many dimensions,” said Lesser, although he acknowledged that in the sphere of the private and social sector, “points of agreement” were achieved. departure” to achieve it.
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Other critics were even more blunt and assured that the luxurious meeting that has been held for more than half a century is a congress reserved for business leaders who desire to increase their wealth and politicians who want to remain in power.
“What I find surprising, indeed scandalous, at Davos, is this strange commitment on the part of participants to adopt an optimistic mindset,” said Agnès Callamard, secretary general of Amnesty International. “But optimism in order to maintain the status quo and preserve my privilege is not optimism.”
Encouraging economic data
On the other side, speaking in purely economic terms, 2024 began with a panorama of lower inflation in the main world powers, such as the United States, China, Spain, Germany or France, or with some of the most important central banks considering starting a path of interest rate cuts that would reduce pressure on the pockets of the population of their countries, as mentioned by the European Central Bank, which considers a cut for the middle of the year, or the United States Federal Reserve, which is approaching increasingly towards its objective of 2% annual inflation rate.
The challenge of rebuilding trust in a divided world
In the challenge that has already taken place two forums in a row, the situation worsens with the passage of time.
The war in Ukraine overshadowed the discussions of the 53rd version of the congress in 2022 and, this year, with the first appearance at the event of the Ukrainian president, Volodymyr Zelensky, demands for Western investment in the war increased, following the complications of the United States in granting more money to kyiv and European Union (EU) funds that remain blocked by local political differences.
“Please strengthen our economy and we will strengthen your security,” Zelensky, Ukraine's president, said on the Davos podium.
Davos day 2: Zelensky draws the attention of his allies and asks them not to cut their aid to Ukraine
Added to this war was another one, which accumulated decades of tensions. The war between Israel and Hamas in the Palestinian territories has turned the attention of the international community to the Middle East, with consequences that have been transferred to international trade due to the attacks by the Yemeni Houthis on ships in the Red Sea and the ideological differences between East and West.
On the other hand, concern about the climate consequences around the world they continue to be a topic of conversation with few solutions since the event that brought together several environmental organizations.
In Davos, the conclusions of the most recent UN climate conference were replicated and corporations heard, once again, in the words of the head of the United Nations, how important it is to combat global warming and reduce carbon emissions.
“In the face of serious, even existential, threats posed by runaway climate chaos and runaway development of artificial intelligence without guardrails, we seem powerless to act together. “As climate collapse begins, countries remain committed to increasing emissions,” said the Secretary General of the UN, António Guterres, in Davos.
And last but not least, the future and the risk posed by artificial intelligence (AI) for the business sector and society in general.
And although the new intelligence came to increase productivity, facilitate tasks that previously seemed complicated and reduce routine tasks, it is also presented as the tool that could leave hundreds of thousands of people without their jobs, or at least not in the same way they have it now.
Davos day 4: the challenges of artificial intelligence and the conflict between Israel and Hamas
However, both detractors of AI and the creators themselves agree that the explosive growth of this technology may be “too much” for regulators and that the lack of regulations around it can generate greater misinformation.
With AP.
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