(Take a look at what I was doing there: I sat on a panel on “Creativity and Identity in the Age of Memes and Deepfakes,” led by Atlantic CEO Nicholas Thompson, which included Amy Cusano, an artist working with AI, and Duncan Crabtree-Ireland, the chief negotiator for SAG-AFTRA, who has been at the center of many debates about AI in the film and gaming industries. I won’t spend much time describing it. Going to put it in. Because I’m already doing the long haul, but this was going to rip off a panel. check it out.)
and well. breath. Donald Trump.
The President is scheduled to arrive here on Wednesday amid threats to occupy Greenland and fears of permanently breaking the NATO alliance. While AI is at all stages, Trump dominates the conversation on all sides. There are lots of little jokes. Nervous laughter. Absolutely angry. Fear in the eyes. It’s wild.
This conversation has started coming up in public conversations as well. Right after my panel on Tuesday, I headed to a pavilion outside the main hall at the Congress Center. I saw someone coming down the stairs with a small entourage, suddenly surrounded by cameras and phones.
Moments earlier at the same spot, the press was surrounding David Beckham and questioning him. So I was ready to become another celebrity – after all, wherever you looked, the captains of the industry were there. I mean, I just ran into Eric Schmidt, who was literally standing in line in front of me at the coffee bar. Davos is weird.
But in fact, it was California Governor Gavin Newsom who is being seen as the leading voice of the Democratic opposition to President Trump and a potential contender, or even frontrunner, in the race to replace him. Since I live in San Francisco, I’ve encountered Newsom several times, dating back to his early days as city supervisor, before he was even mayor. I have rarely seen him working as hard as he did on Tuesday.
Among other things, he called Trump a narcissist who follows “the laws of the jungle, Don’s rules” and compared him to a T-rex, saying, “You hook up with him or he’ll eat you.” And he was equally harsh on world leaders, many of whom had gathered in Davos, calling them “pathetic” and saying they should have brought them knee pads.
Oh.
Meanwhile, Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney, in more measured tones, echoed this sentiment His address in Davos. Although I had forgotten their comments, they were talking. “If we’re not at the table, we’re on the menu,” he argued.
