Davos loses its leadership as the world’s top politicians give it a miss, says ALEX BRUMMER By Alex Brummer for the Daily Mail Updated: 22:03 GMT, 10 January 2024 e-mail View comments Davos is upon us with the World Economic Forum (WEF) forecasting that misinformation and disinformation are the biggest risks on the global landscape ahead of next week’s gathering of the good and great in the Swiss Alps. The WEF fears that a combination of AI, falsified information and a year of elections, including those in the US and Britain, will test societal resilience. The forum doesn’t have a brilliant record of reading the global runes and notoriously failed to predict the great financial crisis of 2008, the Covid lockdown and its inflation aftermath. It also championed president Xi Jinping as a hero of globalisation before the Chinese leader stamped his foot on freedom of expression in Hong Kong and was recognised as a security risk to the West. This time around the WEF may be on to something. Elon Musk’s ownership of X, formerly Twitter, has made the social media site a playground for false narratives. Outlook: The World Economic Forum fears that a combination of AI, falsified information and a year of elections, including those in the US and Britain, will test societal resilience On the day that Davos issued its risk report, bitcoin and other crypto-currencies were on a roller-coaster ride after a fake report on X that the Securities and Exchange Commission had approved the first US spot bitcoin exchange traded fund. That may well happen but the hack of the @SECGov twitter account shows the mischief which can be achieved. Donald Trump is not directly mentioned in relation to upcoming elections. But with the opening Iowa caucuses almost upon the world, his falsehoods about the 2020 elections remain extant, and may well secure him the 2024 Republican nomination and carry him back to the White House. Some 24 hours after 2023 was declared as the world’s hottest on record, the WEF’s alert on climate change also elevates prospects of global catastrophe. The big question is: can Davos do very much about these predictions? The forum was once regarded as a great place to resolve problems. RELATED ARTICLES Previous 1 Next Fake tweet sends crypto into chaos: FBI probes cyber… Festive treats set tills ringing at Sainsbury’s… but… Share this article Share HOW THIS IS MONEY CAN HELP How to choose the best (and cheapest) stocks and shares Isa and the right DIY investing account I remember being present after the Berlin Wall came down and Germany took the decision – with economic consequences that linger – to offer a parity exchange rate for the near-worthless East German ostmark with the then almighty deutsche mark. The tide has turned. The biggest names in politics feel safe to give Davos a miss. Executives such as Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan are as likely to be seen at Mohammed bin Salman’s Davos-in-the-desert in Saudi Arabia as on the mountaintop. Critical deals on climate change, such as agreeing to run down the extraction and burning of fossil fuels, are taken at high-level gatherings such as COP28 in Dubai. The world’s centre of gravity is moving. The very idea that Davos could change the direction of the world by taking on falsehoods or resolving Russia’s war on Ukraine or the Middle East conflict is fanciful. Deals may well be done, chief executives will relish moments on US finance channel CNBC and the communications firms will be in overdrive. As for solutions: forget it. Flight path The Post Office scandal and the potential risk to life posed by the blowout of panels aboard the Boeing 737 Max 9 aircraft are vastly different events. Nevertheless, the lessons to be drawn in boardrooms everywhere are obvious. At the Post Office and technology provider Fujitsu, the approach for more than a decade was to dissemble, cover up and never acknowledge errors. Boeing chief executive Dave Calhoun recognised there was nowhere to hide. He convened a ‘town meeting’ in Washington state, admitted ‘the real seriousness’ of accident and launched checks into quality control and processes. And he acknowledged being ‘shaken to the bone’ about the events aboard an Alaska Airlines jet. Calhoun promised ‘100 per cent complete transparency every step of the way’. Way to go! Payback Britain’s failure to fully embrace brilliant technologies developed at home is among the reasons why we have been frozen out of the Silicon Valley elite. So how encouraging it is to see the legal information service Lexis Nexis, owned by FTSE 100 star Relx, launching its first generative AI product using accurate and exclusive legal data. The pay-off for an annual spend of £1.3billion on IT is that the former Reed Elsevier is now seen as among the top AI enablers in the world. More please. DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS Easy investing Stocks & shares Isa £1.50 fund dealing 0.25% fee on fund holdings Investment ideas Free fund dealing Free fund dealing 0.45% account fee capped for shares Flat-fee investing No fees From £4.99 a month Trade shares and funds for £3.99 Social investing Social investing Share investing 30+ million global community Model portfolios Investment account Free fund dealing Free financial coaching Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. This does not affect our editorial independence. > Compare the best investing platform for you Share or comment on this article: Davos loses its leadership as the world’s top politicians give it a miss, says ALEX BRUMMER e-mail Add comment Some links in this article may be affiliate links. 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