Artificial intelligence is presented as a major technological platform shift comparable to the internet and mobile cloud, but distinct because it can understand and act on unstructured information in real time. This shift relies on a multi-layer system that spans energy, chips, cloud infrastructure, AI models and applications, which together are driving “the largest infrastructure build-out in human history.” Rather than a niche tool, AI becomes core infrastructure whose impact depends on how broadly it is built, adopted and integrated across economies and societies.
Massive investment in semiconductor manufacturing, computing capacity and AI-native startups in sectors such as healthcare, manufacturing, finance and science is framed as evidence that AI will generate high-quality jobs rather than simply destroy them. Routine tasks in fields like radiology and nursing, including charting, scans and note transcription, are already being automated, allowing professionals to focus more on their core purpose of caring for people. The key question shifts from whether AI replaces jobs to how it transforms their purpose and productivity.
A central idea is that every country should treat AI as part of its infrastructure strategy, combining advanced models with local expertise, language and culture to “build your own AI” and embed national intelligence into the broader ecosystem. Because AI systems are easier to use than previous generations of software, they are seen as tools that can narrow, rather than widen, the technology gap for emerging economies. Skills like prompting, supervising and evaluating AI will become as fundamental as managing people, shaping the future of work across industries.
Europe is highlighted as having a strong industrial base and a unique opportunity to lead in robotics and physical intelligence by fusing manufacturing capability with AI, provided it invests early in energy and infrastructure. The overall opportunity around AI is characterized as extraordinary, but broad participation is essential so that “the average pensioner, the average saver, is a part of [AI’s] growth” and does not feel left out while value accrues to only a few.
Reference
Markovitz, G., & Akram, S. (2026, January 23). Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang on how AI is becoming the next great infrastructure build. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/nvidia-ceo-jensen-huang-on-the-future-of-ai/