WEF 2025: Banking on an AI revolution to overcome protectionism 

View of Davos with congress centre during sunset prior the 55th annual meeting of the World Economic Forum. Keystone / Gian Ehrenzeller

The World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting in Davos will try to make a case for collaboration over protectionism by promising an artificial intelligence revolution for all. 

The 55^th WEF annual meeting in Davos will have a decent share of political heavyweights, with special addresses expected by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, Chinese Vice Premier Ding Xuexiang, Argentine President Javier Milei, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, and Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez.  

Hot geopolitical topics of the day will be well represented on the programme. A panel titled “Ukraine: the road ahead” will feature the president of the European parliament and Poland’s foreign minister. Another panel, “Russia and its place in the world in 2025” will feature the finance minister of Sweden. The Middle East will be the focus of a high-level panel on “lowering the temperature” in the region and will feature foreign ministers of Saudi Arabia, Jordan and Iraq. Migration will also have a seat at the high table, with a panel on “Latin America’s fault lines” headlining the presidents of Peru and Panama.  

The founder and face of WEF, Klaus Schwab, will have his traditional one-on-one conversations (on stage of course) with Bangladesh’s interim leader, Mohammed Yunus, and Malaysia’s prime minister, Anwar Ibrahim. 

Building blocks of the AI and green revolutions 

With the suspense over whether incoming United States president Donald Trump will attend WEF resolved (he will not attend but will take part virtually), the 55^th annual meeting in Davos can re-focus on its very ‘non-Trumpian’ theme for 2025: collaboration for the intelligent age.  

While Trump has espoused a more protectionist vision for the US by threatening to raise tariffs on imports and returning to economic nationalism through his “America First” policy, the organisers of WEF seem to be hoping for the opposite outcome. They warn on the WEF website that deepening societal divides, coupled with a shift towards protectionism, is hampering trade and investment. WEF is hoping to put on a show that will convince world leaders that a common objective of helping the world transition to a digital and sustainable economy will serve as an antidote to competition between global powers.  

“The ability of economies to benefit from digital trade and trade in green technologies will be critical for trade-led income convergence between developing and developed economies,” stated the most recent World Trade Organization trade outlook, dated October 2024. The authors also warned that “multilateral cooperation remains key to building an inclusive global trading system that supports the transformation to a digital and sustainable global economy”.  

How the world transitions to a digital and sustainable economy is the question that WEF wants to pursue. SWI swissinfo.ch’s analysis of the WEF 2025 programme identifies a few key areas that encapsulate “Collaboration for the intelligent age”.  

According to WEF, the global infrastructure gap is estimated to reach $15 trillion (CHF13.6 trillion) by 2040. Countries have to decide what physical, digital and institutional investments should be prioritised to best enable digital transformation and deliver public services on a large scale.  

Infrastructure could include hardware like AI data centres and smart energy grids, but also digital ID and payment systems. To be implemented successfully both governments and the private sector have to work together to build a digital ecosystem that will benefit all citizens. Governments will have to commit to making open government data available in a central catalogue while companies have to agree to follow universal safeguards and responsible development of AI models. 

One example of private and public cooperation is Estonia’s X-RoadExternal link, a secure data exchange layer for sending and receiving data between the private and public sectors. It is the backbone of e-Estonia and is estimated to save Estonians 1,345 years of working time every year. 

An inclusive digital revolution will also require the sharing of data beyond borders to have the maximum impact. Advancements in drug discovery, self-driving vehicles and finance require this kind of data sharing to achieve the best possible results. How can data sharing be enabled to maximize the benefits for everyone? 

GAIA-XExternal link, a decentralised cloud involving multiple European countries, industries, and organisations to enhance secure data sharing and AI development, is an example of an initiative that does this. It allows start-ups and public institutions across Europe to access large public datasets in compliance with General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). For example, video recordings of surgeries can be used to train AI to detect risks during operations.  

Making technology work for people and the planet 

Collaboration across borders can also bring the benefits of the digital revolution to those who most need it. Over 4.5 billion people lack access to essential healthcare services. AI and data ecosystems can address global disparities by improving accessibility and efficiency. For example, when it comes to cancer, technology like AI, telemedicine and digital health platforms can improve cancer diagnosis, access to treatment and reduce costs of medicines. Another area where technology can help is vaccine distribution. About one in 10 will miss routine vaccinations. Technology used in industrial supply chains can help plot the best transportation routes to guarantee timely delivery and improve cold chain management to maintain vaccine efficacy. 

The environment can also benefit from a global digital transformation. According to WEF, economic growth requires increased resource use and this is expected to rise by 60% by 2060. The use of technology and innovation to deliver profitable resource efficiencies and advance a circular economy is therefore a major theme of WEF 2025. For example, AI can be used to predict the exact amount of raw material needed for production and thus help manufacturing become more efficient.   

Another emerging field in circularity is the bioeconomy, which is projected to be worth $30 trillion by 2030. The bioeconomy involves using renewable biological materials such as agricultural crops, forestry products, and marine resources to produce food, materials, and energy. Some of the products from the bioeconomy include biofuels, bioplastics, bio-based chemicals, and pharmaceuticals. 

Overcoming protectionism and economic nationalism 

To harness the cumulative benefits of digital technologies and services, sharing of data will be necessary. This can present a problem among economies competing with, or suspicious of, each other.  

“Many countries are increasingly concerned about where data resides and who has access to it. They may view data as a critical national asset, leading to efforts to regulate and control its flow across borders,” says Ning Wang, an ethicist and a political scientist based at the Digital Society InitiativeExternal link of the University of Zurich. 

According to her, harmonising data protection laws and regulatory frameworks can be challenging when sharing sensitive data like health records or autonomous vehicle sensing data. As a result, cross-border data sharing raises critical ethical and governance concerns about data security and privacy, as different countries have different standards and capabilities in these areas. 

However, developing international standards and agreements on data sharing can provide a framework for countries to collaborate, while addressing concerns about sovereignty. According to Wang, international institutions like the United Nations and the World Trade Organization, as well as professional associations like the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, could play key roles in setting such standards.  

“In this process, it is important to note that emphasising the mutual benefits of data sharing can help overcome economic nationalism. For instance, pooling data from multiple countries can lead to more comprehensive datasets for AI applications, benefiting all involved,” says Wang. 

Advancements in technology, such as encryption techniques that protect data while allowing for cross-border sharing, can also help alleviate some concerns related to data security and sovereignty. Finally, governments can foster innovation through policies that encourage responsible data-sharing practices while protecting national interests.  

“This might involve, for example, incentives for companies to share non-sensitive data or establishing data trusts managed by international bodies for the greater good,” says Wang. 

Edited by Balz Rigendinger/gw