Another Crazy Day in AI: Democratizing Access or Deepening Divides?
- Wowza Team
- Jan 20
- 3 min read
Hello, AI Enthusiasts.
Here's another crazy day in AI:
AI as the new economic foundation
HR leaders say AI is a people story
Meta’s vision for everyday superintelligence
Some AI tools to try out
🎧 Listen to a quick breakdown of today’s stories.
TODAY'S FEATURED ITEM: The New Engine of Economic Growth
Image Credit: Wowza (created with Ideogram)
Can AI truly deliver on its promise to democratize opportunity globally, or will it deepen the divide between the skilled and the marginalized?
At the World Economic Forum in Davos, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella joined BlackRock CEO and WEF Interim Co-Chair Larry Fink for a live conversation on how productivity gains emerge across economies and organizations. Covered by DRM News, the discussion focused on the real-world conditions that influence whether new tools translate into broad economic value.
The exchange looked at practical factors shaping adoption, including infrastructure, investment, workforce readiness, and organizational design. It also acknowledged uneven progress across regions, noting how access, education, and policy environments affect who benefits and who may be left behind.
Here are some of the points that came through in the conversation:
Technology alone does not guarantee productivity gains; support systems like skilled labor, organizational design, and infrastructure are critical.
Preparing employees with training and upskilling increases the likelihood that tools will be used effectively.
Differences in access, policy, and education mean that adoption and benefits are uneven across regions and industries.
Collaboration among governments, businesses, and educational institutions can help expand opportunities and reduce inequities.
Nadella and Fink discussed what needs to happen for the technology to create value beyond major tech companies and developed economies—things like better power grids, capital investment, and workforce training. But they also acknowledged that none of these prerequisites are guaranteed to materialize evenly across the world. Fink raised concerns about whether current applications mainly benefit educated populations and developed markets, potentially widening existing gaps. Nadella pointed to examples like the Indian farmer as evidence of broader reach, but neither presenter suggested the outcome is predetermined.
What becomes clear is that the technology itself has moved past the experimental stage, but everything else around it remains unsettled. A professional in New York and a farmer in rural India might both have access to AI tools, but whether they get similar practical benefits depends on infrastructure quality, internet connectivity, training availability, local language support, and regulatory environments. These aren't problems that engineers or developers can solve on their own. They require coordination between private investment and public policy, and they play out differently in every country and region. How institutions and governments respond to these challenges over the coming years will likely matter more than any individual technical breakthrough in determining who actually benefits from AI and who gets left watching from the sidelines.
Watch the full conversation here.
OTHER INTERESTING AI HIGHLIGHTS:
HR Leaders Say AI Is a People Story
/Adam DeRose, (Senior Reporter), on HR Brew
HR leaders argue that the AI transformation isn’t just about new tools—it’s fundamentally about people. Speaking at CES, executives from Salesforce, GitLab, and Samsung emphasized that while AI fluency matters, human skills like curiosity, judgment, creativity, and adaptability will matter even more. AI is framed not as a replacement, but as an amplifier of human intelligence, reshaping how work gets done and how workers are supported. The takeaway: companies that leave HR out of AI strategy risk having to rebuild later.
Read more here.
Meta’s Vision for Everyday Superintelligence
/Squawk Box, on CNBC Television
Meta’s Joel Kaplan says the company’s massive AI investments are aimed at building what he calls “personal superintelligence.” In a CNBC's Squawk Box interview, Kaplan outlined how Meta plans to embed AI into everyday life through platforms used by billions—and through emerging wearables like smart glasses. The strategy leans heavily on scale, infrastructure, and distribution rather than just model performance. It also reflects how AI competition is increasingly tied to geopolitics, regulation, and long-term infrastructure bets.
Check it out here.
SOME AI TOOLS TO TRY OUT:
That’s a wrap on today’s Almost Daily craziness.
Catch us almost every day—almost! 😉
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