Davos 2026: From Dialogue to Deployment, Why AI Must Move From Promise to Practice

By Catherine Parry, Young Global Leader, World Economic Forum

Each year, Davos provides a moment of pause, an opportunity for leaders across business, government and civil society to step back from operational urgency and reflect on the forces reshaping our world. This year’s World Economic Forum Annual Meeting, under the theme “A Spirit of Dialogue,” could not be more timely.

At a moment defined by geopolitical tension, rapid technological change and economic uncertainty, the call for dialogue is not about conversation for its own sake. It’s about rebuilding trust, aligning incentives and critically, translating shared understanding into concrete action.

The focus areas shaping Davos 2026

Across the programme, several interconnected priorities stand out:

• Cooperation in a fragmented geopolitical landscape: Rebuilding bridges in a divided world.
• Unlocking new sources of growth: Identifying the drivers of the next global economy.
• Investing in people and skills: Preparing the global workforce for a shifting landscape.
• Innovation at scale: Moving beyond pilots to widespread technological implementation.
• Prosperity within planetary boundaries: Aligning economic success with environmental health.

Together, these priorities reflect a recognition that today’s challenges cannot be solved in isolation, nor through incremental thinking.

Yet, among these themes, one topic consistently dominates boardrooms and corridors alike: artificial intelligence.

AI: moving from theory to practice

For several years, AI has occupied a paradoxical space in business. On the one hand, it has been surrounded by extraordinary hype. White papers, pilots and proofs of concept promising transformational impact. On the other, many organisations remain stuck at the level of experimentation, struggling to embed AI into core operations in a way that delivers sustained value.

Davos 2026 marks a subtle but important shift. The conversation is no longer whether AI will matter, but how it will be applied, responsibly, securely and at scale.

Too often, AI is framed narrowly as a cost-saving tool: automation to reduce headcount, optimise workflows or marginally improve efficiency. While these benefits are real, they undersell AI’s true potential. Used well, AI is not merely an efficiency lever; it is an enabler of business model transformation, innovation and growth.

We are already seeing leading organisations deploy AI to create new products, personalise services, accelerate decision-making and unlock insights that were previously inaccessible. In regulated industries, AI is helping firms monitor risk in real time, identify emerging compliance issues and move from reactive to preventative governance.

The critical challenge and opportunity is execution. Moving from theory to practice requires high quality data, clear accountability, investment in skills and a willingness to redesign processes rather than simply layering technology on top of legacy systems. It also requires leadership that understands AI not as a standalone initiative, but as a strategic capability woven into the fabric of the organisation.

AI, communication and the modern workplace

One area where this shift from theory to practice is especially urgent is business communication. While email and enterprise platforms remain important, the reality of modern work is that tools such as WhatsApp and iMessage are now deeply embedded in how business is conducted, including in regulated and sensitive environments.

Globally, WhatsApp alone has over 2 billion users, and studies consistently show that employees increasingly rely on consumer messaging apps for speed, convenience and responsiveness. In financial services, professional services and government, these platforms are routinely used for client interaction, deal coordination and operational decision making often outside formal oversight structures.

This creates a profound tension. On the one hand, these tools enable agility and collaboration. On the other hand, they introduce material risks around data leakage, recordkeeping, market abuse and regulatory compliance.

Research across international organisations shows that 95% of firms experience data leakage through employee generated content, often unintentionally. In a world where tens of millions of images and messages are shared daily, risk is no longer episodic; it is continuous and cumulative.

Here again, AI offers a path forward, not through blunt restriction, but through intelligent enablement. Advanced AI systems can now analyse communications contextually, detect risk patterns, flag potential breaches and support compliance teams without undermining productivity or privacy. This is a clear example of AI driving qualitative transformation, not just incremental savings.

Dialogue as a foundation for action

What links these discussions, from AI deployment to communication risk, is the need for dialogue that leads to action. Dialogue between technologists and regulators. Between leadership and employees. Between innovation and responsibility.

The future will not be shaped by those who adopt technology fastest, but by those who adopt it most thoughtfully. AI’s promise will only be realised if organisations invest as much in governance, culture and skills as they do in algorithms and infrastructure.

As the Davos conversations continue, it is clear that the next phase of AI adoption will be defined less by experimentation and more by institutionalization, embedding AI into how organisations operate, communicate and create value.

I look forward to continuing this discussion in more depth at the House of Lords in March, where we will explore how policy, technology and leadership must evolve together to ensure that innovation strengthens trust, resilience and long term growth.

Dialogue, after all, is only the beginning. The real test lies in what we choose to build next.