Radio Davos

How we develop and use AI will either strengthen prosperity or deepen inequality, argues Nobel Prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu. Today's choices could even put democracy under greater strain.
In a special conversation, he shares insights collected in his latest book, What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity, breaking down: 
- The forces weakening community and prosperity - and the growing divide between college-educated and non-college educated workers 
- His concept of "pro-worker AI" (models that expand human capabilities, rather than just replace them) and the potential impact on prosperity and economies
- The institutional choices that will have the biggest impact – and the key economic metric to watch in the years ahead
Subscribe to Radio Davos for more conversations on the biggest forces shaping tech and economies.
Links:
Book: What Happened to Liberal Democracy? Remaking a Politics of Shared Prosperity:  https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/815318/what-happened-to-liberal-democracy-by-daron-acemoglu/
Daron Acemoglu: https://economics.mit.edu/people/faculty/daron-acemoglu


Related episodes:
What I tell my Stern Business School students on how to thrive in the age of AI
Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=waYzMBSQuPo&list=PL7m903CwFUgmx14a5qRTlRdG5WeQDB7Hl&index=6

Listen here - Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/5sMqRcPLWfK5jz56xZ73Di?si=9eEVUcJWSe2SWjk_oC4Sow

Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/arun-sundararajan-ai-jobs-skills-education

 
AI's real impact on jobs - what it means for you, your company and future generations
Watch here - YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HAtp6z1Dh5g&list=PL7m903CwFUgmx14a5qRTlRdG5WeQDB7Hl&index=8 

Listen here - Spotify:  https://open.spotify.com/episode/6wL0J7IIXoQ3q14Zq63A0C

Read here - Transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/ai-jobs-education-cognizant

 
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: 
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts
Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

You're not imagining it: the world really is more unpredictable than it used to be. That's the opinion of the chief risk officers at carmaker Volkswagen and the World Trade Organisation, who join us on Radio Davos to discuss how we can best confront the ever more complex risk landscape.
Geopolitics, supply chains, disinformation and artificial intelligence are among the headline risks that are increasingly interlinked and therefore harder to predict, the risk officers say - but they are both optimistic about our ability to cope.
This episode was recorded live on Thursday, 8 October in front of an online audience as part of the World Economic Forum's Strategic Intelligence programme of content available exclusively to Forum partners and digital members.
To become a digital member: https://www.weforum.org/join-us/individuals/
Hosts: 
Robin Pomeroy, head of podcasts, World Economic Forum
Mitali Chatterjee, Manager, Global Risks, World Economic Forum
Guests: 
Natasha Fields, Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer, World Trade Organization
Torben Oeder, Chief Risk officer, Volkswagen AG 
Links:
Risk Management, Reimagined: https://www.weforum.org/publications/risk-management-reimagined-outlook-to-2035/
The Global Risks Report 2026: https://www.weforum.org/publications/global-risks-report-2026/
Related episodes:
Top global risks in 2026 and how the Davos 'spirit of dialogue' can help us face them: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/global-risks-report-2026/
From 'polycrisis' to 'polytunity' - the future of geopolitics with Prof Yuen Yuen Ang: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/polytunity-geopolitics-cna-corresponent-yuen-yuen-ang/
The Hormuz shock, AI and China: the state of global energy, with Jason Bordoff: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/amnc26-energy-china-hormuz-oil-gas-renewables-bordoff/
The green revolution is unstoppable: Adam Tooze on "the single most dramatic story in the history of energy": https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/adam-tooze-china-trade-energy-climate-pandemics/
Chief Economists Outlook: what bond yields and interest rates tell us about the global economy: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/chief-economists-outlook-gregory-daco-ey/
"Everything has changed" - Gita Gopinath on the global economy in 2026: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/gita-gopinath-global-economy-2026/
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: 
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts
Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

Global demand for electricity is soaring, as wars in Ukraine and Iran squeeze fossil fuel supply chains and the race for AI makes data centres a significant power consumer. 
Divya Reddy, Manager of Energy Initiatives at the World Economic Forum sets out the challenge, and Varun Sivaram, Founder and CEO of Emerald AI explains how data centres can be made "good citizens to communities and power grids alike".
Links:
World Economic Forum Centre for Energy and Materials: https://centres.weforum.org/centre-for-energy-and-materials/home
Future of Power Systems: https://initiatives.weforum.org/future-power-system/home
Innovation Playbook for Future Power Systems: https://initiatives.weforum.org/future-power-system/innovation-playbook
Emerald AI: https://www.emeraldai.co/
Related podcasts:
The Hormuz shock, AI and China: the state of global energy, with Jason Bordoff: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/amnc26-energy-china-hormuz-oil-gas-renewables-bordoff/
How cutting emissions is future-proofing industries beyond the 'green premium': https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/first-movers-coalition-2026/
The green revolution is unstoppable: Adam Tooze on "the single most dramatic story in the history of energy": https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/adam-tooze-china-trade-energy-climate-pandemics/
What I tell my Stern Business School students on how to thrive in the age of AI: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/arun-sundararajan-ai-jobs-skills-education/
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: 
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts
Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

Conflict in Ukraine and the Middle East have exposed the vulnerability of fossil fuel supply chains and prices. Coupled with Chinese supply of cheap renewables hardware, that makes the transition to green energy unstoppable, despite political resistance in some parts of the world. So says historian and podcaster Adam Tooze, director of the European Institute at Columbia University.
In this wide-ranging interview, recorded at the World Economic Forum's Summer Davos in Dalian, China in June, Tooze also talks about how Europe and China can avoid a massive trade war over cars; the future of economic development in the Global South; and what he sees as the greatest threat to humanity that most of us are choosing to ignore.
Episode page with transcript: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/adam-tooze-china-trade-energy-climate-pandemics
Related podcasts:
How cutting emissions is future-proofing industries beyond the 'green premium': https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/first-movers-coalition-2026/
Trade, tech and geopolitical rivalry: what you need to understand about China today: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/qian-liu-asian-insider-china-trade-tech-geopolitics-amnc26/
From 'polycrisis' to 'polytunity' - the future of geopolitics with Prof Yuen Yuen Ang: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/polytunity-geopolitics-cna-corresponent-yuen-yuen-ang/
From 'US innovates, China imitates' to 'Opportunity 2.0' - lessons from Summer Davos: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/strategic-intelligence-amnc26-debrief-china-innovation/
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: 
YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@wef
Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552

Why are there so many headlines right now about bond yields and interest rates? And what does it all mean for the global economy?
The latest Chief Economists Outlook, a regular pulse-check of the global economy, shows an uptick in the number of economists expecting stability rather than a downturn. We ask EY's Chief Economist Gregory Daco why that is.
And he weighs in on the issue of interest rates: "Higher commodities prices, higher oil prices ... are feeding into higher inflation and leading to expectations of central banks around the world tightening monetary policy to prevent inflation from becoming an anchored phenomenon."
Links:
Chief Economists Outlook: https://www.weforum.org/publications/chief-economists-outlook-september-2026
Related episodes:
AI's real impact on jobs - what it means for you, your company and future generations: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/ai-jobs-education-cognizant/
The Hormuz shock, AI and China: the state of global energy, with Jason Bordoff: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/amnc26-energy-china-hormuz-oil-gas-renewables-bordoff/
Chief Economists Outlook: counting the cost of the Hormuz crisis, with Maersk's Ilaria Maselli: https://www.weforum.org/podcasts/radio-davos/episodes/chief-economists-outlook-maersk-ilaria-maselli/
Check out all our podcasts on wef.ch/podcasts: 
YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/@wef/podcasts
Radio Davos - subscribe: https://pod.link/1504682164
Meet the Leader - subscribe: https://pod.link/1534915560
Agenda Dialogues - subscribe: https://pod.link/1574956552