Gupta’s Video Diary from Davos

SMITH BRAIN TRUST – This week, the eyes of the world are on the tiny Alpine town of Davos, Switzerland, where government and industry leaders from around the world, including the Smith School’s Anil K. Gupta, are converged for the World Economic Forum’s annual gathering. 

Gupta, the Michael D. Dingman Chair in Strategy and Entrepreneurship at the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business, is sending video dispatches home, and we’re posting them here.

Gupta and Smith MBA alumnus Haiyan Wang, who is also in Davos, last year placed 28th in the Thinkers50 ranking of the “world’s most influential living management thinkers.” The pair have co-authored a number of highly influential books, including "The Quest for Global Dominance," "Getting China and India Right," and "The Silk Road Rediscovered.” 

“Today I was in a very interesting session about fake news and real politics,” Gupta says in one video dispatch (above). The panel, which included luminaries from the media and tech industries, spotlighted four potential solutions to the spread of misinformation that is plaguing democracies around the world. Gupta offers these highlights.

Below are some additional insights.

In the race toward innovation and artificial intelligence, which country is winning? In the near term, the United States has an advantage. But in the longer term, it appears poised to lose its edge. Wang, managing partner of the China India Institute, explains. 

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi delivered the forum’s opening remarks on Tuesday, in a sweeping address that touted India’s place in global business and highlighted the three major challenges facing humanity. He called on forum attendees to support globalization, and to seek solutions for the climate crisis and work together to combat terrorism. Here are Gupta’s takeaways.