LThe 55th Annual Meeting of the World Economic Forum kicked off on January 20, with leaders from business, technology, policy and entertainment gathering at the TIME100 Davos Dinner. Dario Amodei, CEO and co-founder of artificial intelligence company Anthropic, joined Time magazine editor-in-chief Sam Jacobs on stage to talk about the future of artificial intelligence.

When discussing what Amodei calls powerful artificial intelligence (he prefers general artificial intelligence because of its science fiction connotations), the CEO emphasized the importance of understanding the reality of the technology's potential. "We have to take very seriously when this actually happens, what is possible and what exists. What are the boundaries provided by physics, what are the limits of human agency, and what is left after we consider these," he said. "These barriers are really radical, but they also have their limitations, and it's time we started thinking about that. These are almost absent from the public conversation."

The event took place shortly after President Donald Trump was sworn in at the White House in Washington, DC. Billionaire Elon Musk, media mogul Rupert Murdoch, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, Apple boss Tim Cook and Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai attended his inauguration.

Elaborating on his previous comments about the influence of industrialists on government, Amoday said: "We may be reaching a level of concentration of wealth similar to that seen in the mid to late 19th century. I think John Rockefeller, whose wealth was equal to 10% of U.S. GDP at the end of the 19th century Around 1.5%. Now that we're at that rate with Elon Musk, I do worry that without intervention, AI will make this situation five to ten times more extreme, I think. I think this is undesirable.”

Looking at AI developments in the coming year, Amodei predicts the rise of “virtual collaborators” who operate “much like colleagues.”

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"There will be a lot of debate about how they are used and the economic value they create. But at the same time, are they safe? Are they wreaking havoc? And perhaps most importantly, what about the human economy? What about jobs being displaced?" he explain.

Amodai was the keynote speaker at the TIME 100 Davos dinner, where other leaders raised glasses to celebrate how new technologies can help the world. Obiageli Ezekwesili, President of Human Capital Africa and former World Bank Vice President for Africa, shared her hopes for the continent’s technological potential. “While Africa missed out on the agrarian revolution, missed out on the industrial revolution, which dramatically transformed societies in our world, Africa has boarded the information and communications technology train,” she said, “and has brought about more through artificial technology. Bright Hope.”

In Africa, she said, “technology is creating a level playing field, ensuring that talent and determination, not privilege, fundamentally drive success.” She also spoke of how technology is unlocking the talents of African women and young people, “expanding their perspectives, expand their ideas, and connect their efforts to economic opportunities beyond those of others.”

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Gita Gopinath, first deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), said of what gives her hope, "I'm increasingly optimistic, even though it's not an outright blessing, but Technology can help” address three challenges: weak global economic growth, climate change and aging populations.

Ukraine's First Deputy Prime Minister and Economy Minister Yulia Sviridenko called for "courageous action to stop aggression" in her toast. "In Ukrainian, the word 'freedom' has another meaning: 'will,'" she said. "So if we want true freedom, we have to have the will for peace, the will for security guarantees, the will for sanctions policy, the will to support each other, the will to invest in Ukraine and strengthen our economy, and to make the right choices for the future the will of our country.”

The TIME100 Davos Dinner is hosted by SOMPO, Diriyah Company, Institute of Technology Innovation, Brandi and Fortescue.