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The AI-related highlights from day 4 centered on some moonshot thinking and some practical advice for world leaders, and business and tech innovators.
In sum – what to know:
- xAI CEO Elon Musk: On center stage at WEF, he admitted the U.S. is currently trailing China in solar, which means we could be “producing more chips than we can turn on.”
- BlackRock CEO Larry Fink: Said there’s “no bubble” in the AI sector, but acknowledged companies will want to see ROI for their AI investments this year.
- U.S. President Trump: unveiled more specifics about his “Board of Peace,” and announced he’d revoke the board’s invitation to Canadian leader Mark Carney.
During the last day of the World Economic Forum, Elon Musk covered a variety of topics, including the need for interplanetary life to “ensure the light of consciousness is not extinguished because we’re a tiny candle in a vast darkness.” In his talk, Musk envisioned a future where everyone has a robot, there’s abundance for all, and aging is reversed.
He also lamented the energy conundrum, noting this will be the year where “we’ll be producing more chips than we can turn on.” He said the AI race might be decided by power grids rather than algorithms, noting that China has a significant advantage in electricity production — crucial for AI compute. China is currently ahead in renewable energy, with Musk noting a “very small” percent of landiin the U.S. would power the entire country with solar. He also talked of solar-powered data centers in space as an answer to the “cooling” conundrum in AI infrastructure.
BlackRock: Larry Fink
BlackRock CEO and interim co-chair of the World Economic Forum spoke to Bloomberg this morning about his belief there’s “no bubble in the AI sector,” but with an acknowledgement that there’s a shift in focus, with companies wanting ROI for their AI investments. He said data, processes, and governance have to improve this year to get the most out of AI. He highlighted the need for hundreds-of-billions-of-dollars in AI infrastructure for power grid upgrades.
“AI is going to accelerate new sources of power,” with an emphasis the power will be “abundant and cheap.” He said it would be things we can’t even think of right now, but that
In the meantime, BlackRock has raised $12.5 billion (out of a $40 billion goal) with Microsoft and other partners like xAI, Nvidia, OpenAI, MGX and others, for the Global AI Infrastructure Investment Partnership (GAIIP) to finance data centers and energy infrastructure.
When it comes to a possible “move away from U.S. assets because of unpredictability and instability of U.S. policies, he said there was “maybe a 5% reallocation last year,” but the valuation of the dollar is still an important consideration in your total return. The U.S. where we are in AI and amount of capital we are in AI, the U.S. economy is going to grow over 5% in Q1. Don’t just focus on GDP which is oriented to Capex, the key is in the economic condition are we creating more jobs—that has to be the focus.” He argued that AI represents a great investment opportunity for pension funds and savers, urging that they should be “part of that growth” rather than watching it from the sidelines.
He also said the role of the World Economic Forum will be increasingly important, as “it’s the only place in the world that brings business leaders, political leaders and civil society together…to have open disagreements, which can lead to a deeper and better understanding.”
U.S. President Trump
President Trump wrapped up meetings in Davos after meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and admitting there’s “a ways to go” in ending Russia’s war. After meeting a US delegation, Russian leader Vladimir Putin said a “long-term settlement” would not be reached without first resolving territorial issues.
Trump reiterated that he wants “total access for defense” in Greenland, though most people in the room contend there are already extensive, long-standing rights for a U.S. military defense in Greenland, which have existed since the 1951 treaty with Denmark. As of today, no formalized agreement changing the existing agreement has been produced with NATO.
Lastly, Trump unveiled his “Board of Peace,” which is tasked with rebuilding Gaza and resolving global conflicts. The board’s creation coincided with a ceasefire agreement that halted Israel’s war on Gaza, which has killed more than 71,000 people and injured over 171,000 others since October 2023.
After Trump’s speech on the Board of Peace, Russian President Vladmir Putin said Moscow is willing to contribute $1 billion to President Trump’s “Board of Peace” for Gaza, but that would require unfreezing Russian assets.
Late tonight, Trump said he was withdrawing an invitation to Canadian leader Mark Carney to join the board. Carney drew the ire of the Trump administration earlier in the week, when he said emphasized the end of the rules-based international order, outlining Canada’s plans to adapt by building strategic autonomy, and focusing on human rights and sovereignty. Since the remarks, Trump has continued with “Canada as the 51st state rhetoric.”
