AI IS THE BUZZ, THE BIG OPPORTUNITY AND THE RISK TO WATCH AMONG THE DAVOS GLITTERATI

Illustrating AI’s 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 the Swiss Alpine town and percolated through afterparties.

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Here’s a look at the buzz:

OPENAI OPENING BIG AT DAVOS

The leadership drama at the AI world’s muchballyhooed chatbot maker followed Altman and Nadella to the swanky Swiss snows.

Altman’s sudden firing and swift rehiring 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 “great full board in place” 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.

“We had known that our board had gotten too small, and we knew that we didn’t have a level of experience we needed,” Altman said. “But last year was such a wild year for us in so many ways that we sort of just neglected it.”

Altman added that for “every one step we take closer to very powerful AI, everybody’s character gets, like, plus 10 crazy points. It’s a very stressful thing. And it should be because we’re trying to be responsible about very high stakes.”

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 big implications for workplaces, elections and privacy.