AI, Global Economics, and Democracy: Early Takeaways From Milken

I left New York on a Sunday morning with more suit-wearing executives than I’ve ever seen on a weekend flight – a sign to come of how large the crowds would be at Milken this year. Below are my key takeaways from the first two days at the global conference.

Milken is no longer just for financiers or those of us in the US, and neither are the topics discussed

The weekend kicked off with many private receptions and dinners. One of the first people I ran into was Congressman Issa and I had the pleasure of discussing the industry shifts we are seeing with AI and our role in leveraging the technology for a better future.

Daniel Loeb hosted a dinner with plenty of food for thought in a discussion with him, Jeremy O’Brien, Barry Sternlicht, Van Jones and many others on the issues to watch for. From rethinking power at every level (e.g. many more data centers are needed, and AI’s high-power needs will be challenging for Europe and even US states that don’t have cheap power. Meanwhile, China is accelerating building nuclear reactors to support AI growth) to the mounting distress of office real estate (mostly a US phenomenon of workers not wanting to go back to offices), to the issue of only partly stabilizing headline inflation due to service inflation – especially in healthcare and services.

AI is favoring incumbents, but we can’t leave quantum out of the discussion if we want to solve the fundamental issues of more efficient renewable energies, step-change improvements in them, and drug development.

Van Jones stole the show with today’s parallels to 1968:

• Unpopular president and protests: check.
• A Kennedy enters the race: check.
• The Democratic National Convention in Chicago: check.
• Wars and invasions on multiple continents: check.

The difference today is that social media can take propaganda wars to majority movements.?

A duty to philanthropy and the public office

Early Monday morning, Bill Ackman and David Rubenstein covered many themes and kept breakfast attendees energized with two pieces that stood out:

1. Tax breaks on philanthropy should be viewed as public subsidies, and we therefore have a duty to give, support, and encourage it more broadly.
2. While it is a super election year and we are trying to convince capable people to run for office, doing so is now so hard and poisonous that it discourages people entirely…until you’re very old, at least!

The US and Saudi Arabia highlight discussions on global economies

Next was a powerhouse of financial discussions from those like the International Monetary Fund’s Kristalina Georgieva, Citigroup CEO Jane Fraser, and Capital Markets Authority Chair Mohammed A. El-Kuwai.

Here are the highlights from the expansive conversation:

1. In a fragmenting world, the US is a big winner, especially in financial markets (Europe missed a big opportunity without a capital market union).
2. Saudi Arabia is opening as the world is closing and needs $3 trillion by 2030. For the first time in 50 years, Saudi Arabia may become a capital importer to manage its ambitions.
3. And the biggest change they expect/want in five years? Democratization of access, the US gets a handle on the deficit before we have a real problem, Saudi Arabia becomes a top five capital market in the world, and…everyone will be skinny.

Democracy’s health and private sector growth go hand-in-hand

Next was a discussion on the state of the world with leaders like Theresa May of the United Kingdom, Ivan Marquez of Colombia, and Michael Froman of the Council on Foreign Relations, among others. With 70% of the world population living in authoritarian regimes (up from 58% a decade ago), democracy is becoming more fragile. We cannot have a sustainable and growing private sector without democracy, as Marquez alarmed.

We also must focus on the right issues – with $900 billion in defense spending in the US and about $300 billion in Europe, the 2% debate shouldn’t drift the two alliances apart (for comparison, China’s and Russia’s defense spending is approximately $250 billion and $100 billion, with the latter possibly higher now). Since the 2008 crisis when US and Eurozone economies were about the same, the US economy is now 75% larger while Europe hasn’t found a pathway to growth.

Preserving our humanity in the AI age

In the afternoon, crowd congestion reached galactic proportions when Elon Musk arrived. For many attendees in search of investors or the next deal, hearing Musk say, “Life can’t be just about solving one problem after another, there has to be something that moves your heart,” felt like a pre-dinner aperitif. The depth of his comments didn’t disappoint, saying things like, “Civilization is precarious and rare, and we should treat ourselves as such. It’s like a candle in the dark, and we must make sure it doesn’t go out,” or “Almost all intelligence will be AI. So, what will our role be?” As he bantered with Mike Milken on his old and new quotes, there was, as usual, his encouragement for us all to have more children.

In the early evening, Sachin Duggal of Builder.ai hosted a dinner with Will.i.am for a different take on AI’s future. We debated everything from intellectual property rights to colorful and expressive AI applications, as Will encouraged us to practice empathy, collaboration, and mentorship “like it’s going out of style because it is going out of style,” saying that wise elders could be replaced by AI that unwaveringly supports and listens to the users.

Language defines how you think, so if you don’t have that variability, AI will color, influence, and define how we are thinking, developing, and innovating in the future (not to mention shaping who we are).

For businesses looking to build their future with AI, my new piece in the World Economic Forum, written with Michael Zeltkevic, explores how businesses can get the most out of this technology in five steps.