davos

Ito: Think twice about immortality and the singularity

Ray Kurzweil's vision of the "singularity" -- when nanobots make humans immortal and computer progress is so fast that the future becomes profoundly unknowable -- is a bad idea.

That's the perhaps surprisingly contrary opinion of Joichi Ito, who as a high-tech investor and director of the MIT Media Lab might be expected to be a natural ally. The lab, after all, aims to be at the center of today's technology revolution.

Ito, speaking today at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said he believes the singularity vision puts the wrong priorities first.

"… Read more

Web founder Berners-Lee: Share info, improve the world

He stopped well short of saying information wants to be free, but Tim Berners-Lee, the founder of the World Wide Web, said today the world would be better with some judicious liberation.

Speaking at the 2013 World Economic Forum today in Davos, Switzerland, Berners-Lee called on social-networking sites, academics, musicians, and governments to share more information online.

In earlier days of computing, people had full control over their own information because it was all stored on their own computer in front of them. Now, people store data with online services that deprive them of that control.

"They put their … Read more

At Davos, the self-important get a leaderboard

For most of us, it's just Tuesday. But over in Davos, Switzerland, the elite of the elite are gathered at the annual World Economic Forum for several days of important talks, unbelievable networking, and presumably, a fair amount of social drinking.

Not surprisingly, Twitter seems to be the organizing principle at the event, and in a bid -- perhaps unintentional -- to pit the attendees (who after all didn't make it to the top of the heap by being wallflowers) against each other, the folks running Davos are keeping track of who's tweeting the most.

The result? … Read more

Is clean tech China's moon shot?

DAVOS, Switzerland--So far, wind turbines are not Sputnik. But one day they could be.

The global race to develop clean technology is not just about who can build the best solar parks or wind farms. It is also shaping up as a contest between Chinese-style capitalism and the more market-oriented approach fancied by the United States and Europe.

The question comes down to this: will China's highly capitalized command-and-control economy trump laissez-faire in a low-carbon shift that is widely portrayed as the next industrial revolution?

The failure in Copenhagen to agree to replace the Kyoto Protocol with a new global climate treaty when it expires in 2012 has thrown the focus on national measures. And by almost all accounts, the Chinese are coming on strong.

Beijing's top leaders have made clear their intention to have their nation dominate this new industry, up and down the value ladder. And in their quest for the prize, they are not burdened by concerns facing their Western counterparts--such as the impact of wind turbines on landscapes, higher energy prices for consumers, or investor returns.

Will TED 2009 heal the Davos depression?

These days, conferences are thankful for not having the word "economic" in their names. Yet the difference between the World Economic Forum in Davos, which, according to most accounts, was a pretty somber affair ("how did we get into this mess?"), and the TED (Technology, Entertainment, Design) conference in Long Beach, Calif., is not just a semantic one.

While both venues summon an elite group of thinkers and doers, TED is decidedly more optimistic. "The Great Unveiling" is this year's theme, and so far, the program has lived up to its promise: Bill Gates unleashed mosquitoes, … Read more

Facebook's face time at Davos

Story updated with Facebook response--see below.

Facebook seems to have turned some heads at the high-profile World Economic Forum with its real-time feedback and polling set-ups.

CNN reported from the Davos, Switzerland, gathering of government and business leaders that Facebook, along with YouTube and MySpace, brought social networking to new prominence in such elite company, from which it can often seem a generation gap away.

Facebook's Randi Zuckerberg was especially enthusiastic about the response, according to CNN.

"When you look at the audience you can really see this eureka moment in their eyes when they see 2,500 … Read more

Dude, Putin is so not getting a Dell

Many have by now learned that Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin is a bit, uh, prickly. But Michael Dell found out first hand at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Wednesday.

During the opening of the show, Putin gave a wide-ranging, 40-minute speech. When it came time for questions, Dell asked "How can we help" you with your country's IT infrastructure, according to a report in Fortune.

Putin immediately rebuffed the PC company's founder. "We don't need your help. We are not invalids. We don't have limited mental capacity," Putin … Read more

CNET News Daily Podcast: RIAA recruits Comcast, AT&T to monitor file sharing

When the RIAA said in December it would stop pursuing individual illegal file sharers, it wasn't clear exactly why. Now, CNET News' Greg Sandoval says the industry group is just switching tactics. Several sources close to Comcast and AT&T say that they, along with several other Internet service providers, will agree to monitor their networks for illegal file sharing by its customers.

Also on today's podcast: The fourth quarter is a good news/bad news story for SAP; AT&T profits sink; Acer gets into the smartphone biz; and clickfraud skyrockets.

Listen now: Download today's podcast … Read more

How to get your Davos fix on the Web

In case your invitation to the exclusive World Economic Forum got lost in the mail, you can stop feeling so down about it. The closed-doors event in Davos, Switzerland, has loosened up a bit, thanks to the Web and the whole "transparency" thing that's been trendy for the past few years.

Besides, you can bet a few people will be blogging photos from their iPhones anyway.

This year, the World Economic Forum, which runs Wednesday through Sunday, has chosen to take advantage of just about every kind of social-media app you can imagine.

Broadcasts of many of … Read more

Gates' speech on creative capitalism creates stir

It remains to be seen how much Bill Gates' plea for creative capitalism changes the face of business, but it has certainly sparked a considerable amount of discussion at Davos and elsewhere.

It is common for the topic of the poor to come up at the gathering of the mega-rich known as the World Economic Forum. But the notion that businesses themselves are responsible, at least in part, for solving poverty has gained increased attention at this year's forum, according to reports coming out of the Swiss ski resort town.

According to Marketwatch, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown announced … Read more