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During this week’s World Economic Forum gathering, Davos occasionally took on the atmosphere of a major tech conference. Prominent appearances included Tesla CEO Elon Musk, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, and Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, alongside numerous other industry leaders. Predictably, artificial intelligence dominated the agenda, with executives outlining its world-changing possibilities while also conceding to persistent worries that they might be fueling an unsustainable bubble. Beyond the sweeping forecasts, they also seized opportunities to critique their rivals—and sometimes even their allies.

Kirsten observed that the event felt notably different from previous years. Major tech firms such as Meta and Salesforce occupied prominent storefronts along the main promenade, whereas critical issues like climate change struggled to draw similar attention. Sean remarked that although AI leaders weren’t exactly “panhandling for usage and more customers,” the sentiment occasionally seemed close. Below is an edited preview of their full discussion.

Kirsten noted that sessions addressing major global challenges—climate change or poverty, for example—weren’t attracting large crowds. Meanwhile, along Davos’s main promenade in Switzerland, prime storefronts had been taken over by companies like Meta, Salesforce, and Tata, as well as numerous Middle Eastern nations. The largest presence was the USA House, sponsored by McKinsey and Microsoft. The visual shift was striking. And then there was Elon Musk’s appearance—both she and Sean listened in. While the substance was limited, she found it interesting that he attended at all, given his past avoidance of Davos.

Anthony pointed out that while extracting the tech-focused content from Davos was worthwhile, it was also remarkable how, especially with AI becoming such a dominant business narrative, it’s difficult to disentangle from broader themes like international trade and global politics. One standout moment for him was the Anthropic CEO’s criticism of a Trump-era decision permitting Nvidia to export chips to China. That story blends technology, trade, and geopolitics. In terms of tone, the remarks felt consistent with the CEO’s outspoken style, sitting at a curious intersection of critique and the intense hype surrounding AI. He used the phrase that an AI data center is “like a country full of geniuses”—a claim that invites skepticism—and argued, “How could we possibly send all these chips to China if we’re worried about China? Because essentially we’re sending a country full of geniuses over to China and letting them control it.”

Sean remarked that one could fill a notebook with the unusual phrases CEOs used this week. Another that stayed with him was Satya Nadella repeatedly referring to data centers as “token factories”—a telling abstraction of their purpose in his view. Two things stood out to him from the various executive comments throughout the week. First, there was clear sniping between companies—not just Anthropic targeting Nvidia, which is intriguing given Anthropic relies heavily on Nvidia GPUs. Seeing them side-by-side, with tensions more visible than usual, highlighted the competitive jockeying for leadership and talent without overspending. It was rare to feel that tension so palpably with all the players present.

Second, regarding the geopolitics and business dynamics, this was the most transparent he’d seen CEOs about what they believe is necessary for continued success. Satya Nadella essentially stated that broader adoption is essential to avoid a bubble and its collapse. His focus on equitable global access to AI contrasted with Dario Amodei’s perspective, revealing an interesting tension. Still, Nadella’s comments subtly revealed an underlying push for more users and customers. Similarly, Nvidia’s Jensen Huang emphasized that current investment levels are insufficient and must increase to make AI work.

Kirsten added that Huang framed his argument around job creation, though one could counter that a future slowdown in infrastructure expansion is inevitable—a topic largely absent from current discussions. She agreed with Sean’s point about the unusual dynamic of having all these CEOs in one place, openly critiquing one another. While individual appearances by figures like Sam Altman or Satya Nadella are common, hearing them challenge each other in real time offered a rare glimpse into the competitive undercurrents shaping the industry.