WEF Annual

Meeting 2020
A FUTURE SHAPED BY A
TECHNOLOGY ARMS RACE
L I N K : H T T P S : / / W W W. W E F O R U M . O R G / E V E N T S / W O R L D -
ECONOMIC-FORUM-ANNUAL-MEETING-
2 0 2 0 / S E S S I O N S / R E A L I Z I N G - C H I N A S - T E C H N O L O G Y-
POTENTIAL
 Panelists

Yuval Noah Harari Zanny Minton Ren Zhengfei

Professor, Department of History, Founder and Chief
The Hebrew University of Jerusalem Beddoes Executive Officer, Huawei
Editor-in-Chief, The Economist Technologies Co. Ltd
 What's at stake? How much does it matter to
mankind, to the world, that we have this competition
of technological arms? Is it just a matter of the
supremacy of the market, or are there more serious
concerns concerning the sustainability of market
structures, the future of our societies, the future of
global dominance? What's going on at stake?
Agenda
What are the implications of the arms race on
technology? What's happening? Are we separated
into a planet of two ecosystems? And what is that
going to mean?

What are we trying to escape the worst results?

That's an effort by Davosian to finish on an upbeat
note. But, how do we make sure that we have the
best results?
Views of Panelists
According to Harari, as an imperial arms race,
the present arms race could leave very soon for
the formation of data colonies. If you have all
the evidence for a single region, you don't need
to send troops in, but in a much larger and wider
sense, from a deeper viewpoint, he feels it will
help shape the future of civilization and the
future of life itself. (Davos, 2020)
Cont.
Ren said, I also read A brief history of Tomorrow
and 21 Lessons for the 21st Century by Professor
Harari. I resonate with many of his thoughts.
We have to realize, first, that technology is fine. The
advancement of technology isn't bad; it's good.
Secondly, information systems are like seeds
growing everywhere due to massive developments
in computing capacity. (A Future Shaped by a
Technology Arms Race, 2020)
Cont.
He added , in order to help humanity, rather than
kill it, people have always been able to use modern
technologies. That's because, rather than being
miserable, most people strive to a decent life.
However, as we have a long-term perspective of
nature, we understand that it is possible to use
atomic energy to produce electricity for the good of
humanity. (Zhengfei, 2019)
Although atomic bombs can damage individuals,
today 's production of AI can't do as much harm.
Cont.
In order to counter this Harari said, It is important to equate it
to an atom bomb. It tells us that society will unite when it
acknowledges a shared threat.
Compared to atomic bombs, the difficulty with AI is that the
threat isn't so clear. But a lot of people believe, and I guess for a
good cause, that you would win an AI arms race. And it is really
risky, since there is a far stronger temptation to win the
competition and rule the world.
He added, in the next two decades, I believe there are so many
aspects that we will see progress in AI. But what I have
described as hacking human beings is the most critical point to
reflect on.
Cont.
Ren said, We're not sure whether or not the science
and technologies that Mr. Harari imagines will
become a reality, but I'm not going to ignore his
creativity. As an organization, we need to get a
better view of our clients and their knowledge and
records.
Ren don’t think that the world is splitting into two
tech eco system. Since science is about the facts
and only one truth remains. If the fact is found by
some physicist, it will extend to the entire planet.
Group’s View
Advances in one main region aim to decisively disrupt this
balance: technology.
Big technology, robots, artificial intelligence: modern tech
will influence culture for decades to come. As Vladimir
Putin once mused, "Anyone who becomes the leader in this
field will become the world's dictator.“
Even Sophia the most advance AI robot once said “she
would destroy humans when it comes to her self defense”
So its clear that the unnecessary advancement in technology
would be so dangerous for the human beings and the society.
References
Harari, Y. N. (2018). 21 Lessons for the 21st Century. New York: Spiegel & Grau.
Davos. (2020, November 10). Retrieved from Huawei:
https://www.huawei.com/en/facts/voices-of-huawei/davos
A Future Shaped by a Technology Arms Race. (2020, November 10). Retrieved from World
Economic Forum:
https://www.weforum.org/events/world-economic-forum-annual-meeting-2020/sessions/realizin
g-chinas-technology-potential
Zhengfei, R. (2019). How is Huawei fighting back against America? The Economist.
Olsen, D. H. (2016). The Rise of the Machines: Automation, Horizontal Innovation and Income
Inequality.
References
J. E. Swain, P. K. (2014). “Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: Brain
imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of. Brain research.
Norvig, S. J. (2016). Artificial intelligence: a modern approach. Malaysia; Pearson Education
Limited.
Tarique Anwer, J. S. (2015). Artificial Intelligence and its Role in Near Future. JOURNAL OF
LATEX CLASS FILES.

Wellman, D. C. (2015). “Economic reasoning and artificial intelligence. Science.

Javier Andreu Perez, F. D.-Z. (2016). Artificial Intelligence and Robotics. UK-RAS Network.
Thank you
QUESTIONS?