At Davos, leaders talked big on rebuilding trust. Can the World Economic Forum make a difference?

abcnews.go.com:

Business and political elites descended on the Swiss Alpine snows of Davos to suss out “rebuilding trust” in a splintering world

DAVOS, Switzerland — Business and political elites descended on the Swiss Alpine snows of Davos to suss out “rebuilding trust” in a splintering world. If there’s any takeaway from the World Economic Forum's annual meeting — boldly touting that theme — it’s that we still have a long way to go.

From full-blown wars in Ukraine and the Middle East to suspicions that corporate chiefs and tech whizzes are out to make a buck off of displacing workers with artificial intelligence, trust is clearly in short supply.

The Davos gathering wrapped up Friday after a yearly pulse-taking of leading decision-makers. The idea is getting people together, and big announcements are often just a byproduct — not the aim. That's if they come at all.

“It’s unrealistic to think that Davos — or any meeting, anywhere in the world — in one meeting can rebuild trust when it’s fragmented on so many dimensions," said Rich Lesser, chairman of Boston Consulting Group.

But thousands of conversations between the social, private and public sectors help create «a starting point for rebuilding trust,” he said.

A big artistic wall headlined “Rebuilding Trust” that greeted bigwigs from Bill Gates to the Iranian foreign minister was full of phrases like “Growth and Jobs,” “Climate Nature Energy” and “Cooperation and Security” — buzzwords that, to some, smack of empty talk.

Critics say the annual meeting, which started more than half a century ago, are a preserve of business chieftains who covet greater wealth and politicians who want to stay in power. The event is hard-wired to foster can-do optimism, but geopolitical gloom weighs