--- title: "Global Elites Suddenly Starting to Fear AI" description: "The Davos glitterati seems to have changed their tune about AI at this year's World Economic Forum — but they're still firing people for it." date: "2024-01-20" modified: "2024-01-20" authors: - name: "Noor Al-Sibai" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/nooralsibai" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/global-elites-ai-fears-davos" categories: - "Artificial Intelligence" tags: - "davos" - "OpenAI" - "salesforce" - "the digest" --- # Global Elites Suddenly Starting to Fear AI ![The Davos glitterati seems to have changed their tune about AI at this year's World Economic Forum — but they're still firing people for it.]() *\Image: Getty / Futurism\* ## Bear Mode This time last year, the billionaires at the World Economic Forum conference in Davos, Switzerland were [impossibly gung-ho]() about artificial intelligence. But now cracks are forming, and they sound somewhat concerned. As the [*Washington Post*]() and [other]() [outlets]() report, this year's gathering at Davos has featured a decidedly shifted tone as the world's most influential movers and shakers start to see just how dangerous AI might be. "Last year, the conversation \[surrounding AI\] was 'gee whiz,'" IBM government affairs vice president Chris Padilla told *WaPo*. "Now, it’s what are the risks? What do we have to do to make AI trustworthy?" Between the [untold number of jobs lost]() to the AI frenzy and the risk of [even more rampant disinformation]() in this year's American presidential election, business, government and economic leaders have begun openly wondering whether the world should — or perhaps even can, at this point — pump the brakes. "Human beings must control the machines instead of having the machines control us," Chinese Premier [Li Quang said during a speech]() at the conference. "AI must be guided in a direction that is conducive to the progress of humanity, so there should be a red line in AI development — a red line that must not be crossed." ## AI Bomb Even OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, attending Davos for the first time, took a more conciliatory tone when [addressing increasing concerns]() about the technology he's shepherding into existence. "The OpenAI-style of model is good at some things," he said, "but not good at sort of like a life and death situations." The summit's gravest warnings, however, came from a surprising source: Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff, whose company has [very much invested in the technology](). "We don't want to have a Hiroshima moment," [Benioff said during a panel discussion](). "We've seen technology go really wrong, and we saw Hiroshima, we don't want to see an AI Hiroshima." In another interview, the CEO — whose company last year [laid off 8,000 employees]() while paying actor Matthew McConaughey $10 million per annum for a sponsorship deal — admitted that he's long maintained the dangers AI poses to the world. "I think AI has to be almost a human right," Benioff mused in a [*Yahoo Finance* interview]() conducted in the Swiss Alpine town. "I've actually been saying... for decades that AI could be a creator of inequality." It's undeniably good that CEOs have proven that they can read amid all the [overwhelmingly bad press]() AI got over the past year — but then again, a quarter of those gathered at Davos also said they [plan to fire people this year]() and replace them with AI, so let's not get ahead of ourselves. **More on CEOs and AI:** [*As Google Pivots to AI, CEO Warns He Will Fire Even More Staff*]() ## Author At Futurism, I've often been drawn to unpacking the narratives that underlie technological, scientific and medical progress, with a special interest in areas of conflict and ambiguity that end up setting agendas and steering the fates of both elites and the hoi polloi. I'm a committed generalist, but I often find myself returning to work involving NASA and the private space sector, the effects of AI on media and society, and the mechanics of the pharmaceutical industry, with a specific focus on the spread of GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic and Wegovy. Prior to Futurism, I worked for publications ranging from Media Matters and Truthdig to Raw Story and Bustle. I'm also the author of "Myspace Scene Queens," a 2024 title in Instar Books' acclaimed "Remember the Internet" series. My work at Futurism has been cited by outlets including the New Yorker, Slate, Nieman Lab, the Verge, the MIT Technology Review, the Sunday Times, and the Daily Beast. I grew up in North Carolina, attended the University of North Carolina at Asheville, and now live in Brooklyn, New York. In my free time, I'm an avid reader and music fan; you can probably find me at a local poetry reading, concert, underground rave, or DJ set. I'm the proud parent of an ineffable orange cat named Mee-Mow. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()