Some of the trending terms you might hear at Davos 2026

World leaders are set to gather in Davos, Switzerland, for the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting 2026, which will be held under the theme ‘A Spirit of Dialogue’.

The programme for the event is built around five global challenges that call for public-private dialogue and cooperation across government, business, civil society and academia. The need for growth, resilience and innovation cuts across these challenges.

From green growth to minilateralism to resilience economics, here are some of the trends and phrases that will come up throughout the Annual Meeting.

Remember the Pope in a puffer? Those AI-generated images of Pope Francis wearing an oversized white jacket were an early example of what is now becoming known as AI slop.

The term describes low-quality, mass-produced AI-generated text, image or video content designed to prompt clicks and engagement but containing very little substance.

It can refer to anything from light-hearted content – think cat soap operas and zombie football matches – to fictitious personal stories and deepfake images of public figures.

While it might sometimes seem harmless, AI slop has the potential to influence public opinion and drive misinformation - and, as such, it could have consequences for online platforms, AI itself and democracy.

The Forum report Rethinking Media Literacy: A New Ecosystem Model for Information Integrity, offers guidance on empowering people to access, analyse, evaluate and responsibly produce media content.

“Electrons are the new oil”, artificial intelligence company OpenAI wrote in a blog post late last year.

In that article, the ChatGPT maker described how electricity is not just a utility, but a strategic asset critical to building the infrastructure that ensures AI’s benefits reach as many people as possible.

For the US, keeping its leading edge in developing AI requires more electricity than the country can currently provide, the post argued. China, meanwhile, has in the past decade and a half increased its power production by more than the rest of the world combined – it’s this disparity in capacity between the two nations that is at the heart of the concept of the ‘electron gap’.

From discoveries in healthcare to transforming the factory floor and more, the promise of AI is becoming a reality in parts of the world.

But realizing the technology’s true potential calls for the diversity of the populations it represents to be included throughout every step of its development.

According to a report from the Forum’s AI Governance Alliance, creating an inclusive AI ecosystem that enables the broadest range of community members requires equitable access to the technical infrastructure needed to develop AI systems. It calls for all those interacting with such systems to understand the basics of AI to be aware of the opportunities and risks posed by their use. And AI must be inclusive by design – embedding equity and inclusion throughout each stage of the AI life cycle.

The Forum’s ‘Blueprint for Intelligent Economies’ looks at how inclusive AI can drive growth. Read more here.

Even by the current rapid standards of technological advancement, the quantum economy promises to be transformative.

From finance and healthcare to energy and transportation, quantum technologies are set to transform countries and industries around the world, driving economic growth and diversification, according to the Forum report Embracing the Quantum Economy: A Pathway for Business Leaders.

These technologies include:

If leaders can navigate challenges including intellectual property issues, resource constraints and the widening digital divide, it is estimated that the economic value of these three quantum technologies in the leading industries could reach up to $2 trillion by 2035. Read more in the report here.

Supervisory technology, or suptech, can help regulators create a more resilient, transparent and accountable global financial system as it becomes more complex and digital.

This will be increasingly important as the financial sector embraces AI and other advanced technologies and new risks for consumers and institutions emerge.

Suptech tools range from predictive analytics to identify climate risks, to dashboards that map financial inclusion with geospatial data and AI-powered analysis of consumer complaints.

By collaborating with cutting-edge technology firms, financial regulators can gain valuable expertise and access to these new digital tools. Discover more in this blog.

Recent headlines might suggest that the climate transition is stalling, but the numbers tell a different story.

Overall growth in green investments has not wavered, according to the Forum report Already a Multi-Trillion-Dollar Market: CEO Guide to Growth in the Green Economy. After technology, the green economy is the most dynamic growth sector in the world and worth over $5 trillion a year. In five years’ time, this could rise to $7 trillion a year.

Delaying investments in mitigation and resilience today will cost governments and companies far more over time than investing today – and the green economy represents “one of the biggest growth opportunities on the planet”, the report says.

Companies with green revenues often outperform across multiple financial metrics. Read this blog to learn how CEOs can apply strategies to thrive in green markets.

Where multilateralism means many countries with different views and goals working together, minilateralism concerns small groups of nations collaborating to tackle problems or pursue mutual goals.

Amid shifts in the global order, minilateralism is growing in popularity.

Research into the concept suggests that it can offer more flexibility, efficiency and impact than multilateralism. But rather than undermining cooperation on global issues among many states, minilateralism can complement and supplement it.

For more on making sense of geopolitics, listen to this episode of the Forum’s Radio Davos podcast.

Resilience economics is the study of how well economies can recover from major external shocks, such as pandemics, natural disasters or financial crises.

Against today’s backdrop of economic shifts, conflict, rising protectionism and climate-related shocks, resilience is no longer just about riding out a crisis – it has become a precondition for growth.

This is explored in a new white paper from the Forum, which outlines a three-pronged approach to resilience. It highlights priority areas for collaboration and shows how companies, governments and multilateral development banks can strengthen infrastructure, expand digital and skills capabilities, close financial gaps, and enable policies for growth.

Read more in Resilient Firms and Economies: How Companies, Governments and Multilateral Development Banks can Help Unlock Growth in Emerging Markets.

You’re probably aware that analysts and industry experts are keenly watching the AI boom for signs it is becoming a bubble that could burst. But did you know there are three possible bubbles in financial markets that experts say many be on the horizon?

Alongside AI, a plunge in the price of Bitcoin has created fears of a broader cryptocurrency crash. And surging global public debt – which exceeds $100 trillion – is also causing concern.

Each of these interconnected ‘bubbles’ feeds the other. So if there were a triple bubble that eventually burst, what might that look like? Read more here.

Once dismissed as “soft”, human-centric attributes and skills have become the backbone of labour markets.

As AI and automation take on more routine and cognitive tasks, it’s not technical capabilities that are the most valuable professionally, but skills such as creativity, innovation and adaptability.

These skills, which enable people to interact effectively, solve complex problems and drive transformation, comprise the “human advantage”.

Tasks tied to empathy, creativity, leadership and curiosity have just a 13% potential for AI transformation since they depend on human – not machine – judgement, context and lived experience.

According to a Forum white paper on this topic, the world urgently needs new ways to measure and develop these skills.

Read more on how this can be achieved in New Economy Skills: Unlocking the Human Advantage.

As AI and automation take greater roles in workplaces, will there be what some commentators are calling a “jobageddon”?

Here’s what research says. The Forum’s Future of Jobs Report 2025 projects that by 2030, 92 million existing positions face displacement, representing the most significant labour transformation since the industrial revolution. At the same time, 170 million new jobs will be created globally.

So while the world’s job markets might not be facing a dystopian future, they will see significant change.

Alongside the rise in importance of creative thinking, resilience, flexibility and agility, demand for technological skills including AI, big data and cybersecurity is expected to grow rapidly in the next five years. Businesses are increasingly investing in reskilling and upskilling programmes in response.

Read about why it will be vital to help workers achieve the right mix of technical and human skills in this blog.