Top technology executives at the World Economic Forum in Davos are warning that artificial intelligence is rapidly becoming a geopolitical force, shaping global power competition and raising new national security concerns.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei compared advanced AI chips to nuclear weapons, arguing the United States risks losing its advantage over China by selling high-end chips to its rival.
“If you think about the incredible national security implications of building models that are essentially cognition, that are essentially intelligence,” Amodei said. “It’s like selling nuclear weapons to North Korea.”
Google DeepMind CEO Demis Hassabis said China’s AI capabilities are closer to the U.S. than many expect, pointing to the impact of Chinese large-language model DeepSeek, which gained attention for delivering performance comparable to leading systems at a fraction of the cost.
“They may be only six months behind, not one or two years behind, the frontier. That’s what DeepSeek showed,” Hassabis said. “But they have yet to show they can innovate beyond the frontier.”
Executives said the growing influence of AI is making it a central focus at Davos, even as the annual gathering has been dominated by attention on U.S. President Donald Trump and geopolitical tensions involving Greenland. Companies and investors have also used the forum to host private events, with Anthropic and venture capital firms Lightspeed and General Catalyst planning exclusive parties.
AI’s rise is also intensifying concerns about Europe’s position in the global technology race. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said the continent must shift its mindset, arguing it is too focused on regulation and not enough on building globally competitive technology.
“You’re only going to be competitive if the products coming out of Europe are globally competitive,” Nadella said. He added that Europe has led on privacy and AI safety, but needs to “complement it by building locally and thinking globally.”
Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt said Europe must increase investment in open-source AI to avoid dependence on China, as U.S. companies move toward more closed systems.
“Unless Europe is willing to spend lots of money for European models, Europe will end up using the Chinese models,” Schmidt said. “It’s probably not a good outcome for Europe.”
As businesses weigh AI adoption, Signal President Meredith Whittaker urged leaders to be specific about what they need from the technology, warning that an “intimidation factor” can shape decision-making.
“Ask the questions, and ask the questions selfishly in relation to what your business actually needs,” she said. “Get as specific as possible.”
Amodei also warned AI could drive an unusual economic scenario, combining rapid GDP growth with high unemployment, inequality and low-wage work.
“We could have this very unusual combination of very fast GDP growth and high unemployment or at least underemployment or a lot of low wage jobs, high inequality,” he said. “I don’t think that’s a macroeconomic combination we’ve ever seen before.”
Hassabis called for deeper international collaboration, bringing together technologists with philosophers, economists and social scientists to determine how best to deploy AI.
“Unfortunately it kind of needs international collaboration,” he said.
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