Klaus Shwab specifies 3 roles for governments to keep pace with the global transformation from the era of the industrial revolution to the “smart era”

Professor Klaus Schwab, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum, stressed that the world is going through an unprecedented transitional stage, transforming from the era of the industrial revolution to the “smart era”, stressing the importance of the role of governments in leading this rapid change and enhancing cooperation between different sectors.

This came during his participation in a major session entitled “Governments in the era of artificial intelligence”, within the activities of the first day of the World Summit of Governments 2025, which started today in Dubai and continues for three days.

In his review of the major transformations that the world witnessed, Klaus Schwab said: “Since the start of the World Government Summit 12 years ago, the world has witnessed major changes, and the UAE has always been at the forefront of this development, and in 2016 we have been talking about the fourth industrial revolution and its dimensions, but today, We have become a greater shift, as we move from the industrial age to the (smart era) at an accelerated pace, radically different from the transition from the era of agriculture to the industry, which took generations to adapt to.

The Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the World Economic Forum indicated that this transformation redefines the foundations of global economies, as knowledge, data and smart visions have become the basic pillars of this era, instead of relying on traditional products and services.

Klaus Schwab praised the role of the UAE in anticipating this change, and said that the UAE was a forerunner in the foresight of the future, as it established the first ministry of artificial intelligence in 2017, which reflects a pre -emptive vision that realizes the importance of technical transformations and its impact on societies, stressing that the global government summit is a global platform To think about the future, for its ability to collect decision makers and experts to discuss the most urgent issues in the world.

– 3 roles for governments
According to Klaus Schwab, governments must play three basic roles in this new era, the first is to lead change by providing infrastructure and strengthening partnership with the business sector to ensure a smooth shift towards an economy based on intelligence and knowledge, while the second role is to prepare talents, It is expected that 50% of the jobs will change during the next ten years due to these transformations, which requires the development of education and training systems to keep pace with the new requirements, while the third floor is the status of organizational and moral frameworks to ensure the responsible use of advanced technologies, such as artificial intelligence, quantum computing, digital currencies, and the protection of societies One of the possible challenges, stressing the need for continuous global coordination to ensure that these transformations are in the interest of all humanity.

Klaus Shawab considered that the current international efforts are not sufficient to keep pace with these transformations, calling for a continuous global coordination process in this regard, pointing to the need to develop a unified vision that guarantees the investment of technology in the service of humanity instead of becoming a source of harm.

Building confidence
At the end of his speech, Klaus Schwab stressed that the biggest challenge facing governments not only in the speed of change, but in dealing with people’s concerns about the future, indicating that governments are required to build confidence and awareness of the chances of the new era, rather than focusing only on challenges, and he said: ” The future does not happen on its own, but we are the ones who make it, and constructive optimism is what should all lead us towards a more prosperous world. “