Davos Diaries: Low on buzz but high on optimism; AI and tariffs in spotlight
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Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. Days three and four of Davos were filled with more panel discussions, sessions, and conversations. In addition to Ukraine President Zelenskyy walking the Davos corridors, Day 3 was packed with several high-profile country representatives addressing the audience, including Malaysian Prime Minister M.
Anwar, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez, and Britain’s new Treasury chief, Rachel Reeves. What’s different this year is that there are fewer people and the usual ‘Davos buzz’ is low, but the optimism is much higher than seen in the previous years. The positive sentiment among US businesses is particularly high.
One can also observe the strong pivot to growth, which is on every CEO’s mind, with most of them asking where the next level of growth and expansion is coming from. Even as the chatter on US President Trump’s orders gets louder and their full impact is being assessed, the UN Secretary-General António Guterres ratcheted up his warning about climate change and the risks of AI. Also Read: From chips to Stargate: Can India weather the storm of Trump's AI policy changes? Most people are now looking towards President Trump’s live video address to perhaps get more clarity on the issues of tariffs, more on ‘Atmanirbhar US’ and his position on major geopolitical and economic issues.
The latter issue is particularly causing uncertainty, especially on immigration, trade and tariff, keeping the world leaders at WEF 2025 on the edge. Artificial intelligence (AI) remained a dominant topic, echoing last year's focus. Nearly every session is on AI — how it is going to change jobs and more importantly, its impact on the society and productivity but also the energy demand and digital divide it
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