Summer Davos 2026 Opens in Dalian With 10 Emerging Technologies Report and AI-Energy Debate
Updated
Updated · World Economic Forum · Jun 23
Summer Davos 2026 Opens in Dalian With 10 Emerging Technologies Report and AI-Energy Debate
3 articles · Updated · World Economic Forum · Jun 23
Summary
Dalian opened Summer Davos 2026 with Day 1 centered on AI’s power needs, trade fragmentation and the future of work, alongside the release of the World Economic Forum’s Top 10 Emerging Technologies 2026 report.
97% of organizations are deploying AI, speakers said, but most are not yet seeing profit impact because data, governance and energy infrastructure are lagging behind model development.
Robin Zeng of CATL said storage—not China’s grid—is the key constraint for AI expansion, with sodium-ion batteries needing 3 to 5 years to scale and more than 40 million EVs potentially serving as distributed energy assets.
Jobs and manufacturing sessions stressed augmentation over replacement: one panel said 22% of job roles will be reshaped by AI, while smart-factory executives argued productivity gains depend on reskilling workers and building learning-focused operations.
Broader discussions tied the forum’s agenda to a weaker global outlook, with Strait of Hormuz disruption, minilateral trade deals and renewed focus on supply-chain resilience shaping debates that continue on Day 2.