AI conversations at Davos have sprinted ahead – we need to go back to basics

Once again, AI was one of the biggest items on the agenda at the 2026 World Economic Forum.

Only this year, the tone was noticeably more tense – businesses and journalists anxiously asked deeptech leaders about AI security, governance, infrastructure strain, if the dreaded ‘AI bubble’ is really a bubble, and when investments will start delivering economic returns. In other words, the stakes have never been higher.

Of the many AI leaders that spoke at Davos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella came closest to hitting the nail on the head. He warned that AI only avoids becoming a bubble if it produces real, widely-distributed outcomes, rather than concentrating value among a handful of companies and economies.