Read out from Davos 2025: From Inner to Outer Space

New Frontiers – collaborating in the intelligent age

It was an honour to be invited to Davos 2025 during the 55th edition of the World Economic Forum (WEF) and represent World Cities Culture Forum. This year, I was in learning and listening mode with an open mind to connect, collaborate, and see how arts, culture, and the creative industries play a critical role in a global context, especially with AI’s proliferation in a new frontier.

This year’s theme for WEF was “Collaboration in the Intelligence Age.” The experience in Davos was full of passion and a desire to understand new wisdom.

Alpine Light

In the height and mountain light, with the wisdom and guardianship of snow-capped mountains – the Alps – tens of millions of years old, the air and oxygen felt purer and wiser. There were so many brilliant minds converging, sharing bold and courageous ideas on what is urgent and important for the year and decades ahead for our planet, people, and nature.

So many ideas were shared on key topics: the ocean and water crisis; new energy; global warming and uncontrollable fires; Sustainable Development Goals; Diversity Equity and Inclusion; Gen Z/A leadership; refugees; war and peace; crypto money and blockchain; new tech and AI; ancestral rights and indigenous communities; psychedelics and technodelics; neuroscience; spirituality; brain optimization; and health and happiness. I was so awakened and alert I could not sleep!

As technology’s advancement outpaces human development it is our cultural, emotional, and spiritual intelligence, our very consciousness, that remains our greatest asset.

Key Encounters

Key seminars took place simultaneously. There is an overwhelming sense of FOMO. However there was so much to engage with so it all worked out fine. On day 1, Inkwell Beach Davos discussed mainstream populist culture, young people, and Diversity Equality and Inclusion. The Art of Business seminar at the Heimatmuseum Davos launched a new think tank: Value AI Institute, which is led by Stefan Schoepfel and humanising the value of AI in business and society.  I helped open proceedings alongside the founders and hosts with a traditional ceremonial breaking of oven baked bread, Swiss cheeses and an Alphorn. I spoke about the ‘Essencing’ of Artistic Intelligence in AI, and the keynote speaker, Deepak Chopra, listened and watched on intently (no pressure!) as I warmed up his stage. It was great to see new voices in the mix this year. Mongolia featured on the main promenade, with their prominent fashion models wearing such exuberant costumes you had to take selfies with them (pictured below).

In a structured organizational serendipity, I met special pioneering souls like Maejor & Martina with their Frequency School for wellbeing, and Rupa Dash, whose Women in Davos Agenda made sure the female quotient voiced its challenges and the need for female energy and leadership. On the bus to Davos, I met Matteo Petel, a Parisian neuroscientist based in San Francisco who is working with AI to resolve depression –super clever! Adriane C Smith is championing and hosting big thinkers and powerful insights with Inkwell Beach Davos on Martin Luther King Day to Curtis Jewell moderator extraordinaire, birthing new collectives and delivering round tables on capitalism, culture and extreme climates. I met pioneers like the ‘new energy’ guru Leon Van Deberg who is revolutionising clean energy, especially in remote places of the world.

All these fine people, and there were many more, reminded me about how committed and brilliant leadership can be, therefore offering a high sense of hope for the future.

Baukultur Breakfast – Bhutan’s vision

The Baukultur breakfast event at Switzerland House meant for an early start. Waking up at 4.30am with the dark shadow silhouettes of the Alps did have a wonder-feeling of awe. To top this early morning feeling would take something special, and I have to say, the day delivered. Hearing directly from Tshering Tobgay, the Prime Minister of Bhutan (pictured centre below), was refreshing. He spoke about the transformative impact of focusing on Gross Domestic ‘happiness and wellbeing’ as central to improving life expectancy from 42 to 72 years, as well as achieving 99% literacy in young populations, being the only carbon-negative country, and envisioning a new city dedicated to wellbeing, culture, and happiness in sync with nature and biodiversity. What a vision! The fact the PM delivered his story in traditional outfit from the heart made it even more powerful. He was like the happiness superhero of Bhutan.

Wider conversations on building places and neighbourhoods, guided by the eight quality principles of Baukultur, emphasised how we must work with nature in mind and be conscious of our environment. This means being mindful of rising temperatures, sea levels and how we work with nature not fight with it. The discussion also referenced the catastrophic fires in LA, mentioned during the Collidescope Foundation’s Ashes to Impact discussion.

It was good to know that there were more arts and artists engaging in the discussions, exhibitions and performances featuring artists like Nile Rodgers, Refik Anadol, and Sougwen Chung (pictured below), to name a few. WEF positioned artists favorably, highlighting how they use sound frequencies and visual expression—often through immersive technology—to bring emotion and storytelling to the forefront. Their work explores the critical issues of our time, from melting glaciers to systemic inequality, as well as youth empowerment, wellbeing, and good health. In such moments it is vital that art and culture are not perceived as a luxurious space for entertaining or escapism for the elite, but have a meaningful presence to nurture and inform our hearts and minds and bring society together as one.

Welcome, the Meta Human

The most recurring theme in Davos was AI, along with quantum computing, and how in the next 20 years we are likely to experience a radical change in every field of our lives. By 2045, we will be in an unrecognizable world. Deepak Chopra, the new age spiritual quantum physicist, delivered his eloquent keynote at the Art of Business launch of Value AI Institute. His message was chilling and compelling, offering two critical pathways for the future survival of Homo Sapiens in this new revolution of technological advancement. Pathway (x), the road to extinction awaits if we remove awareness and consciousness, thinking only in narrow selfish ways (populism). Or, Pathway (Y), a road to a new universe where we leapfrog into becoming metahumans by tuning into our spiritual intelligence and consciousness.

Humanising the Art of AI

In this critical moment, our world stands at the precipice of a new era. As we face this transition, the cultural sector must courageously step forward to help shape and inform the coming changes. Our focus should span the continuum from inner consciousness to outer space, embracing both our planet and the vast universe beyond.

The path forward requires a thoughtful integration of technology, guided by ethical, humanistic, and intelligent principles. As technology’s advancement outpaces human development it is our cultural, emotional, and spiritual intelligence—our very consciousness— that remains our greatest asset. It is this uniquely human quality that will keep us at the forefront of progress and ensure we chart a course that benefits nature, humanity, and our magnificent planet.

By nurturing our inner wisdom and expanding our understanding of the cosmos, we can create a harmonious balance between technological advancement and human values, cultures and emotions. This approach will not only help us navigate the challenges ahead but also unlock the full potential of our species as we venture into this new frontier.

*Views expressed are the author’s own.