内容来源：https://news.microsoft.com/signalmagazine/issue/issue-03/#father-benanti-interview

内容总结：

【微软《信号》杂志聚焦：信任危机、AI伦理与可持续未来】

在数字时代，信任正成为比货币更稀缺却更关键的“货币”。微软最新一期《信号》杂志指出，全球对政府、企业、媒体等核心机构的信任度已跌至历史低点，而信息碎片化加剧了信任重建的难度。对此，微软提出三项核心策略：保持清晰一致的沟通（对内对外透明）、掌控关键传播渠道（确保信息权威性）、赋能员工作为可信声音（在碎片化媒体环境中，员工是最受信任的代言人）。

本期杂志同时探讨了人工智能与可持续发展的前沿议题：

• AI伦理的全球共识：梵蒂冈AI伦理顾问保罗·贝南蒂神父推动签署《罗马AI伦理呼吁》，获全球多宗教及联合国支持，强调AI须以人类尊严为核心，倡导“AI作为副驾而非自动驾驶”的发展路径。
• 气候创新实践：微软首席可持续发展官梅兰妮·中川介绍，公司通过10亿美元气候创新基金，投资直接空气捕获、绿色航空燃料等前沿技术，已带动约120亿美元跟投资金，探索“书签核算”等新型减排模式。
• 森林碳汇新模式：生态森林管理公司（EFM）获微软投资，通过延长林木轮伐期、禁用农药等方式提升森林碳储量，将碳汇转化为可交易信用，兼顾生态与商业回报。

此外，南非喜剧演员特雷弗·诺亚分享了对2026年的乐观展望，强调AI在医疗诊断、教育普惠等领域的突破性应用；英国前首相里希·苏纳克指出，AI将重塑国家竞争力与民主韧性，呼吁领导者“必须理解、呼吸并驱动AI”；瑞士达沃斯本地主厨则推荐了十处体现地域可持续理念的在地商业与文化景点。

本期内容显示，面对技术革命与信任挑战，跨界合作、伦理先行与长期主义正成为构建可持续未来的关键路径。

中文翻译：

在美元与数字钱包出现之前，物物交换早已存在。盐、香料、贝壳——这些物品之所以具有价值，是因为社群认可它们的意义。它们是最初的货币，构成了早期经济的基石。

然而，即便在那时，最根本的“货币”也并非实体，而是信任。每一笔交易、每一种关系、每一个决策都建立在信任之上。与任何实体或数字货币不同，信任无法被铸造，它建立缓慢，却可能顷刻崩塌。在增长加速、媒体碎片化的世界中，信任正变得日益稀缺，却也愈发重要。

多项指标显示，全球关键机构的信任度已跌至历史低点——企业、政府、高等教育、新闻界、司法系统、政党等均经历了持续的信任下滑。与此同时，媒体碎片化使得与外部利益相关者或员工大规模建立或重建信任变得更为困难。在这个人们几乎可以从任何地方、任何媒介听到关于你、你的公司或组织信息的时代，我们该如何守护声誉、构建信任？没有任何单一组织能够独自解决信任问题，但微软在实践中总结出了一些行之有效的方法。

1. 保持始终如一的清晰度
信任（一如既往）建立在与所有受众保持一致性、透明度和真实性的基础上。对外，这意味着不仅要清晰说明你在做什么，还要阐明原因以及衡量标准——如果你不主动定义，他人便会替你设定标准。同时请记住（正如霍布斯所言），“愚蠢的一致性乃是狭隘心灵的妖怪”——这意味着当世界变化时，改变无可厚非，但关键在于承认变化并解释其背后的原因。对内，这需要将员工作为关键受众对待——加快与他们的沟通节奏，并确保内部传达的信息与对外保持一致。任何偏差都可能是危险的。

2. 运营重要的沟通渠道
在一个“事件真相”的第一版本可能来自论坛或帖子的时代，掌控沟通渠道至关重要——不是为了主导舆论，而是为了确保你的事实和背景信息能够被获取、理解且具有权威性。在需要之前就建立这种能力；当信任出现裂痕时，你绝不会希望发现能力缺口。这意味着要建设自有渠道，包括丰富的投资者关系与媒体网站，同时也要有能力在客户所在的任何地方（如Reddit等在线论坛及所有社交平台）发出公司的声音。

3. 让你的员工作为可信的声音
最后，在媒体碎片化加剧的低信任度环境中，你的员工以及与公司关系最密切的人将成为最受信任的群体。我们都有过这样的经历：听到关于某公司的消息后，会向在那里工作的人求证真伪。这意味着我们需要具备（并获得授权！）动员员工作为倡导者的能力。

我们尝试将所有这些元素融入您手中的这本杂志。在其中，您将通过我们视为至关重要的渠道——纸质印刷——听到可信声音带来的清晰、真实与透明的信息。请欣赏《信号》杂志第三期。

弗兰克·X·肖
微软首席传播官

此为《信号》杂志第三期开篇信的数字化版本。欲阅读完整内容，请点击此处查看完整翻页书。

特雷弗·诺亚的乐观理由
这位艾美奖获奖喜剧演员兼作家分享了他对2026年最感乐观的八件事

特雷弗·诺亚是个大忙人。自2022年结束长达七年的《每日秀》主持工作以来，这位南非喜剧演员、作家兼慈善家成立了自己的制作公司，推出了Netflix喜剧特辑，并获得了伊拉斯谟奖，成为自1965年查理·卓别林以来首位获此殊荣的喜剧演员。

2024年，他出版了首部儿童绘本《走进未修剪的草地》，作为其畅销回忆录《天生有罪》的续篇。他继续运营着于2018年创立的特雷弗·诺亚基金会，该青年发展倡议与微软合作，在南非资源不足的学校推广人工智能驱动的学习机会。他丝毫没有放缓的迹象。“2026年对我来说将是非常忙碌的一年，”他说，“我将启动下一次世界巡演，并与YouTube合作围绕世界杯开展一系列活动。我们也在持续扩展特雷弗·诺亚基金会。”他将自己的充沛精力归因于积极的心态。

“总有理由保持乐观，”他说，“乐观是人类体验的必要组成部分……当我们狩猎动物时，你必须乐观地相信自己能找到猎物；今天，如果你要开发塑造未来的技术，你同样需要保持乐观。世界总是在向前发展。”以下是诺亚对未来一年感到兴奋的八件事。

1. 推动慈善事业更进一步的机会
“（特雷弗·诺亚基金会的）使命和解决问题的方式这些年来确实发生了变化。我们了解到，我们以为学习者和教师想要的东西，并不一定符合他们的实际需求。我们想给人们，比如说，先进的技术实验室，但他们中的许多人只是说‘我们其实需要能锁上的大门’或‘我们需要围栏防止野生动物进入’。因此，我们在倾听社区需求方面做得更好了。

我们刚刚启动了一个创新者基金，寻找非洲及其周边地区有创新想法的人，然后帮助资助这些想法和项目，以解决日常问题。我们对教育、发展和建设相关的想法特别感兴趣，任何在改善基础设施和社区的维恩图中有交集的领域。

就长期目标而言，我们尝试试点项目，并将成功的项目传递给政府（以进一步发展），因为我们无法像政府那样大规模推广。我们希望创建的项目和想法能在我们离开社区后长久持续，或使社区能够超越我们去做更多事情。我们会问：他们如何赚更多钱？如何创造新机会？如何创建完整的生态系统？那些对如何改变社区有奇妙想法的人，往往来自社区本身。”

2. 医疗保健革命
“人们非常关注AI，但对我来说，我们的讨论有时过于宽泛。AI有一部分纯属推测，而另一些领域我们已经挖到了金子，我认为我们在这些领域投入的时间还不够。医疗保健就是其中之一。我参观了约翰斯·霍普金斯大学，看到他们如何通过大语言模型改进乳腺癌患者的诊断和治疗——这些模型分析扫描结果，预测某人是否会患乳腺癌，有时比医生早五年。这也减少了女性不必要的活检次数。这不仅针对漏诊的阳性病例，还包括所有假阳性或可能导致健康不良后果的可能阳性病例。

还有另一个AI程序，医生可以口述笔记，由AI自动整理成文。目前医疗保健领域的大量工作，尤其在美国，只是行政事务，对任何人都没有帮助，只是大家在规避责任，确保所有事情都一式三份。如果我们有系统来处理这些，就能立即改善生活。”

3. 回归语境
“人们开始重新认识到语境的价值。如果我和人们同处一室，语境得以维持，我们谈话的真实性也能得到可靠保障。人们很难丢失语境。因此，当我在线上时，我尝试更多地转向长内容，因为语境比以往任何时候都更重要。曾经有一股疯狂的热潮，追求一切尽可能简短；在Vine（已停用的社交媒体应用）时代，我们的记录是六秒，但现在对我自己和许多人来说，有了新的方向。我们说，‘让我们扩展内容，进行更长的对话，创造有呼吸空间的东西，以尽可能保持语境。’”

4. 教育反思
“教育是另一个存在机遇的领域，因为在我去过的任何地方，都没有足够的教师来满足学习者。在我所见的世界里，并非每个学生都能获得他们所需的平等教育机会。我认为AI目前的发展水平，特别是在封闭系统中，可以通过一个基于所有教科书和师生所需信息训练的大语言模型，提供无限资源：包括教案、评分、针对学生的个性化指导和辅导。

我看不到任何弊端，因为教育已经停滞了太长时间，太多学生离开学校时缺乏现代世界所需的技能和工具，而教师首当其冲承受了压力。他们处境艰难。他们在学校努力教学，回家后还要批改作业到深夜。然后，第二天又得来重复这一切。因此，AI在教育领域是一个巨大的机遇，而且风险可控，因为你在一个领域内进行，并且始终在教师的监督之下。它具有我们全球教育迫切需要的强大增效潜力。”

5. 增进对AI的理解
“我认为人们应该尽可能多地学习这项技术，不仅通过阅读，还要通过实践。我很享受构建自己的智能体，并建议每个人都尝试一下。实际上，我震惊于与我交谈的许多CEO，他们正在围绕AI塑造整个公司，但当我问他们是否亲自使用过时，答案是否定的。也许其中一些人曾用某个大语言模型进行过粗略搜索，但没有人真正深入钻研过。我总是对他们说，‘如果你不花时间去尝试理解这个东西，你又如何围绕它来塑造你的组织？’

构建智能体帮助我理解了大语言模型的局限性。它在处理海量数据方面非常出色，但在多模态输入和输出方面确实有限。这正是人类相对于技术仍具有有趣优势的地方，因为我们擅长收集不同领域不一致、杂乱的信息，并以某种方式使其变得有意义。我们的组织在信息流动方面并不像我们愿意相信的那样清晰，世界也是如此。正如自动驾驶汽车展示了驾驶实际有多困难一样，我们想当然地认为我们在世界中传递和利用信息是多么容易。”

6. 不断演变的就业市场
“有很多AI布道者会让我们相信每份工作都将消失，一切都会被取代。根据我所看到的一切，情况并非如此——AI真正所做的只是将我们提升为自己工作的管理者。每个人仍然需要监督工作。因此，你的法律AI的好坏，取决于知道如何监督它并理解其引用的案例是否真实的律师。你的编码AI的好坏，取决于审视它并能说‘这是好代码’的软件工程师。因为归根结底，输出是为人服务的，所以人类仍然必须以某种方式、形态或形式来判断它。因此，我确实认为人们的工作方式和内容肯定会发生演变。但我认为我们并未达到许多人谈论的AI临界点。我认为目前这个工具比某些人呈现的那种无所不在、无所不知的工作机器更有趣。”

7. 包容性的机遇
“许多身处高位的人低估了他们试图帮助的人群中所蕴含的知识和信息。这就是我们在思考如何改变世界时需要看到的转变。如果我们能够将解决方案的思维方式——无论是在政策、慈善还是技术领域——从自上而下转变为自下而上，我们就能实现巨大的飞跃。无论我们构建什么，重要的是要记住，答案往往在于人民、社区、国家、问题实际所在的地方。问题存在并不意味着解决方案不存在。只是意味着他们可能无法获得有助于解决问题的工具。”

8. 世界杯
“世界杯绝对是乐观的理由。它并非完美无缺，但它是我不认为理所当然的事情。我们生活在一个越来越少的事物能将人们聚集到同一空间、产生共鸣的世界。我们现在生活的世界创造了一个‘一人受众’，我的‘为你推荐’页面与你的完全不同。这样做的好处是每个人都可以享受他们想要的任何小众领域。坏处是我们生活在不同的现实中，当人们生活在不同的现实中，他们就更难看到彼此的相似之处。

这就是为什么像世界杯以及任何体育赛事这样的活动是如此强大的工具，一大群人聚集在一个空间，分享同一个故事、同一种体验。它也将整个世界以一种迫切所需的方式凝聚在一起。海地有多少机会能以平等的方式与美国互动？无论你来自哪里，命运如何，当开场哨声吹响时，一切皆有可能。这真是梦想的素材。因此，我对世界杯 genuinely 感到兴奋，因为我认为它将把很多人带到美国，也将以一种不同的方式将美国带给很多人。”

此为《信号》杂志第三期专题样本的数字化版本。欲阅读完整内容，请点击此处查看完整翻页书。

“我们已学会如何拓展前沿”
关于微软气候创新基金迄今工作及未来方向的简报

梅拉妮·中川于2023年加入微软，担任首席可持续发展官，其职责包括负责管理公司10亿美元的气候创新基金。在之前的职业生涯中，她曾在私募股权、政府和非营利组织工作，横跨技术、金融和创新领域。我们请她介绍了该基金的详情，以及企业如何在应对气候变化中发挥作用……

微软气候创新基金为何设立？
梅拉妮·中川：当微软宣布其可持续发展承诺，即到2030年实现碳负排放、水正效益和零废弃时，我们意识到有些技术和解决方案尚未大规模存在，但到2030年需要广泛普及。气候创新基金的设立，正是为了构建未来市场所需的世界性解决方案。

你们如何决定投资哪些项目？
MN：作为全球技术领导者，微软能看到市场上涌现的大量新技术。我们识别那些处于商业化应用边缘、具有最高气候影响潜力的可持续创新，并匹配合适的资本和合作伙伴关系，将这些解决方案大规模推向市场。

在基金运作的头五年里，你们学到了一些什么关键经验？
MN：我们学会了如何通过验证新兴技术来拓展前沿。例如，微软与一家名为Climeworks的碳捕集公司谈判达成了一项为期十年的承购协议（按设定条款购买未来产品的交易），以从大气中清除约1万吨二氧化碳并将其安全储存于地下。该协议于2022年签署，是当时签署的最大规模长期直接空气捕集合同之一。随后，通过气候创新基金，微软为Climeworks在冰岛的Orca工厂提供了首创性的项目融资，这是首个商业直接空气捕集设施。我们还学会了如何充当主流资本的桥梁，使早期项目能够扩大规模。Stegra是一家低碳绿色钢铁企业，我们帮助其获得了项目融资，就是一个例子。此外，我们认识到AI可以通过速度和创新加速和优化系统，我们的投资组合中有几家以AI为先的公司。

请谈谈基金投资的一个令您特别自豪的项目……
MN：对企业而言，如何减少航空旅行排放正变得越来越重要。通过基金，我们投资了一家名为Twelve的公司，其旗舰产品是一种即用型电力转液体可持续航空燃料，使用可再生电力、水和二氧化碳制成。我们投资是为了支持其华盛顿州摩西湖工厂的扩建，这也促成了微软对SAF的承购。

我认为这种承购安排的方式对其他公司来说是一个非常有用的模型，因为我们采用了一种称为“簿记与索赔核算”的结构。这使得微软能够报告因使用可持续航空燃料而降低的排放，但无需实际交付燃料。

我们不拥有飞机，因此最终我们与总部位于华盛顿州的阿拉斯加航空公司合作。当商务旅行发生时，微软支付了可持续航空燃料的费用，阿拉斯加航空能够使用该燃料飞行，而Twelve则获得了投资以继续扩大和发展业务。各方都受益。

您曾在政府和公司内部工作过。企业在应对气候变化方面有哪些优势？
MN：我从不同角色中学到的一点是，实际上需要所有行动者共同推动变革——需要政府、企业、技术和金融。企业扮演的角色首先是行动迅速灵活，不受政治周期束缚，并能快速应对新出现的风险和机遇。它们还可以影响自身的价值链，将可持续性融入采购方式，影响数千家供应商的减排。当然，企业有机会通过构建创新生态系统来建设和驱动市场。

对于那些希望放大其在气候可持续性方面支出效果的CEO和CSO，您有什么具体建议吗？
MN：我们正在看到AI如何在加速几乎所有行业的解决方案方面产生变革性影响，如果你看看气候创新基金对AI驱动公司的投资，它们展示了数据自动化和高级分析如何为脱碳、韧性和市场增长开辟新路径。因此，我们经常告诉他人以及我们的许多客户和合作伙伴，进步的步伐必须加快。

对于企业领导者、投资者和创新者来说，这是一个绝佳的时刻，应深思熟虑地将AI融入其战略，并利用其潜力支持向低碳解决方案、更清洁的能源机遇以及更具韧性且负担得起的解决方案过渡。

未来五年有哪些最有趣的创新即将到来？
MN：展望五年后的2030年，我们看到在能源存储与发电、水泥和钢铁生产、航空燃料、碳去除以及电子废弃物回收等领域的前沿技术前景广阔——所有这些都适用于我们自身的全球运营。

与此相关，我也热衷于如何让更多首次共同投资者参与这些技术创新，尤其是那些得到气候创新基金支持的技术。截至目前，我们已通过基金分配的超过8亿美元，催化了120亿美元的后续融资。目前，我们每分配1美元，就能吸引15美元的后续资金。如果我们能对我提到的那些技术创新做到这一点，我们将能够加速重要解决方案的推广速度和规模。

是什么让您在工作中保持动力？
MN：几年前吸引我加入微软的关键因素之一就是气候创新基金，即我们能够将微软的资源（包括我们的AI能力和专业知识）部署和分配到那些正在构建未来的公司中。我对我们为能源、燃料、碳去除和先进材料领域带来新供应的直接投资感到非常兴奋。

知道五或十年前还只是科学项目的想法，如今已成为被数百万人使用的商业规模主流产品和项目，这真是太棒了。此外，还有机会展示战略伙伴关系的真正意义，在解锁加速该市场所需的技术、资本和人才方面取得具体成果。对微软气候创新基金来说，这是一个激动人心的时刻。”

此为《信号》杂志第三期专题样本的数字化版本。欲阅读完整内容，请点击此处查看完整翻页书。

达沃斯十佳去处
自2017年起，主厨斯蒂芬妮·海因一直在她的达沃斯餐厅LOKAL欢迎游客，该餐厅致力于展现当地风物与食材。她分享了在达沃斯及周边地区的最佳去处内幕贴士。

1. 美食奶酪店Käch：出售令人惊叹的本地、区域及国际奶酪和该地区特产。松露烤奶酪不容错过！若想将风味带回家，他们提供真空包装，确保奶酪在旅途中保持新鲜。
2. 家庭经营小店Bioladen Davos：提供优质有机产品。该店在“Ünschi Härdöpfel”倡议中扮演关键角色，该倡议于2019年在店主马丁·亨吉领导下启动，使土豆种植在中断约70年后重回达沃斯山区。近期还新增了来自周边山区的可持续泉水。
3. 隐蔽的Café Weber：位于帕森登山缆车对面，是一家第四代家族经营的面包店咖啡馆，自1903年以来一直是达沃斯的主打店铺。以其面包（酸面包尤为出色）和糕点（如Bündner Nusstorte传统坚果蛋糕）闻名。也提供镇上最好的早午餐。
4. Vreni的茶壶：位于达沃斯广场Promenade 109，是一家独特的茶 boutique。店主Vreni Federici和女儿Carmen热情欢迎游客，畅谈她们前往茶园的旅行，并分享带回瑞士的稀有异域茶饮背后的故事。
5. 高踞达沃斯上空的Kessler's Kulm：是一家酒店、水疗中心和餐厅，是欣赏阿尔卑斯山全景的绝佳地点。坐落在沃尔夫冈山口，是挑战长红道滑雪者的天然歇脚点。他们享用包括奶酪火锅在内的山间经典美食补充能量，或在风景如画的露台上小酌一杯，然后继续旅程。酒店还设有俯瞰兰德瓦瑟河谷的屋顶水疗中心。
6. 该地区有两家出色的精酿啤酒厂。位于瓦尔瑟村庄Monstein中心的Monsteiner啤酒厂成立于20多年前，每年生产3万升啤酒。游客可预订参观和品鉴，了解酿造过程，并品尝其招牌啤酒以及本地熟食和奶酪。与此同时，成立于2018年的Davoser Craft Beer为本地啤酒界带来了浓郁风味。酿酒大师汉内斯·古奇米特是一位知名鉴赏家，确保每批啤酒都保持其独特冲击力。Davoser年产量约4万升，并为热衷深入了解精酿啤酒艺术的人提供参观和品鉴。
7. 山间餐厅Chalet Güggel：是达沃斯的经典去处，高踞雅各布山山坡，阿尔卑斯山美景尽收眼底。可步行或乘坐雅各布山缆车抵达，是徒步旅行者和滑雪者的最爱。尝尝烤鸡——美味至极，餐厅因此得名！
8. 美丽的Waldhotel酒店：可俯瞰山谷全景，交通便利却又

英文来源：

Before there were dollars or digital wallets, there was barter
Salt, spices, seashells – objects that carried value because communities agreed they mattered. These were the original currencies, the fabric of early economies.
Even then, the underlying currency wasn’t physical at all – it was trust. Every transaction, every relationship, every decision rested on it. And unlike any physical or digital currency, trust is impossible to mint, slow to build, fast to lose. In a world of accelerating growth and fragmented media, trust has become both scarcer and more essential.
By many measures, trust in critical global institutions is at an all-time low – business, government, higher education, the fourth estate, judicial systems, political parties, all have experienced steady declines. At the same time, media fragmentation makes it even harder to either build or regain trust at scale, with outside stakeholders or employees. In an era where anyone can hear about you, your company, your organization from nearly any place and any medium, how do we protect reputation, and create trust? No one organization is going to solve the trust problem, but there are some ways that we at Microsoft have found useful to address it.

1. Be consistently clear. Trust is (as always) built with consistency, transparency and authenticity, to all audiences. Externally, this means being relentlessly clear not just about what you are doing, but why, and how you are measuring it – if you don’t declare, others will pick metrics for you. And remember that (as Hobbes said) a foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of small minds – which means that it is always okay to change as the world changes, but key to that is acknowledging the change and the why behind it. Internally, this involves treating employees as a key audience – increasing the tempo of communication with them, and ensuring that what is said internally is the same as what is said externally. Any gap is dangerous.
2. Operate the channels that matter. In a world where the first version of “what happened” can come from a forum or a thread, control the means of communication – not to dominate the conversation, but to make sure your facts and context are available, accessible, and authoritative. Build the capabilities before you need them; when trust leaks, you don’t want to discover a gap. This means owned channels, inclusive of a rich investor relations and media site, but also the ability to have a company voice anywhere customers live – in online forums like Reddit, and across all social platforms.
3. Enable your people as credible voices. Finally, in a low trust environment compounded by fragmented media, your employees and those closest to the company are the ones that will be most trusted. We’ve all been in a situation where we’ve heard something about a company and then reality checked it with someone who works there. This means we need the ability (and permission!) to mobilize our employees as advocates.
   We have tried to combine all these elements in the magazine that you hold in your hands. Inside you will find clarity, authenticity and transparency from credible voices delivered in a channel we feel matters more than ever: print. Enjoy issue three of Signal.
   Frank X. Shaw,
   Chief Communications Officer,
   Microsoft
   This is a digital version of the opening letter from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
   Trevor Noah’s reasons to be cheerful
   The Emmy award-winning comedian and author reveals the things he is most optimistic about for 2026
   Trevor Noah is a busy man. Since wrapping up his seven-year run as host of The Daily Show in 2022, the South African comedian, author and philanthropist has founded his own production company, released a Netflix comedy special and won the Erasmus prize, the first comic to do so since Charlie Chaplin in 1965.
   In 2024, he published his first children’s book, Into the Uncut Grass, a follow-up to his bestselling memoir Born a Crime. He continues to run the Trevor Noah Foundation, a youth development initiative he founded in 2018, which partners with Microsoft to expand AI-driven learning opportunities in under-served schools across South Africa. And he’s showing no signs of slowing down. “2026 is going to be a really busy year for me,” he says. “I’m going to be launching my next world tour and doing a bunch of stuff around the World Cup with YouTube. And we’re constantly expanding the Trevor Noah Foundation.” He attributes his energy levels to his positive outlook.
   “There’s always cause for optimism,” he says. “Optimism is a necessary component of the human experience… When we were hunting for animals, you had to be optimistic that you would find one, and today, if you’re going to be building technology that’s going to shape the future, you’ve got to be equally optimistic. The world always moves forward.” Here are eight things Noah is excited about in the year ahead.
4. The chance to push philanthropy further “Our mission and style of tackling problems [at the Trevor Noah Foundation] have definitely changed over the years. We have learned that the things that we thought learners and teachers would want did not necessarily line up with what they actually needed. We wanted to give people, say, fancy tech labs and many of them were just saying ‘We actually need gates that lock’ or ‘We need a fence so that wild animals can’t come in’. So we’ve gotten a lot better at listening to the needs of the community.
   We’ve just launched an innovators’ fund, finding people with innovative ideas in and around Africa, and then helping fund those ideas and projects to assist with everyday problems. We’re particularly interested in ideas around education, development and construction, anything that overlaps in the Venn diagram of improving infrastructure and communities.
   In terms of long-term goals, we try to pilot programs and pass along those that show success to the government [to develop further], because we can’t scale like a government can. We want to create programs and ideas that last long after we’ve left a community or enable them to do things beyond us. We ask, how do they make more money? How do they create new opportunities? How do they create entire ecosystems? The people that will have fascinating ideas on how to change the community are from the community itself.”
5. A revolution in healthcare “There’s a lot of focus on AI but, for me, we speak about it a little too broadly. There’s one side of AI that’s all speculation, and then there are others where we’ve already struck gold, and I don’t think we’re spending enough time in those departments. Healthcare is one of them. I went to Johns Hopkins University and saw how they’ve been able to improve the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer in patients through large language models which are looking through scans and predicting whether or not somebody’s going to have breast cancer, sometimes five years sooner than a doctor would. That is also decreasing how many women have to have biopsies unnecessarily. It’s not just the missed positives [that are being addressed]; it’s all the false positives or the possible positives that lead to negative outcomes in people’s health.
   There’s another AI program where doctors can dictate their notes and have them written up automatically. So much of the work that’s in healthcare right now, especially in the US, is just in administration and it’s not helping anybody, it’s just everyone covering their butts and making sure that everything is done in triplicate. If we get systems that take care of it, that improves lives here and now.
6. A return to context “People are starting to remember the value of context. If I’m in a room with people, the context is maintained and the veracity of what we’re speaking about is really held securely. It’s very hard for people to lose context. So, when I’m online, I’ve tried to pivot a little more to long-form as the context is more important than ever before. There was once a mad dash to have everything be as short as possible; our record was six seconds when it was [defunct social media app] Vine, but now for myself and for many people, there’s a new direction. We’re saying, ‘Let’s stretch this out, let’s have a longer conversation, let’s have something that breathes so that as much context is maintained as possible.’”
7. A rethink in education “Education is another one of those areas where there’s an opportunity because there is no place I’ve been where there are enough teachers for the learners. There is no world I’ve seen in which every student has an equal opportunity to as much education as they need. I think that the place that AI is already at, especially in a closed system, can provide infinite resources with an LLM that’s trained on all the textbooks and all the information that the kids and teachers need contained within it: lesson plans, marking, student-specific instruction, guidance.
   I don’t see a downside, because education has been stagnant for such a long time and so many learners are coming out of school lacking the skills and the tools that they need in the modern world and teachers have borne the brunt of this. They’re up against it. They’re at school trying to teach, and they’re going home and then marking papers until midnight. Then, they’ve got to come in and do it all again. So, AI in education is a massive opportunity, and the risk is contained because you’re doing it within one sphere and always under the supervision of a teacher. It has a wonderful amplifying potential that we sorely need in education all over the world.”
8. Increased understanding of AI “I think people should learn as much as they can about the tech, and not just by reading but by doing. I’ve enjoyed building my own agents and would suggest everyone gives it a try. I’m actually shocked at how many CEOs I speak to who are shaping their entire companies in and around AI, and then when I ask them if they’ve used it personally, the answer is no. Maybe some of them have done a cursory search using one of the LLMs, but none of them have actually dug into it. And I always say to them, ‘If you don’t take the time to try to understand this thing, how can you shape your organization around it?’
   Building agents has helped me understand that an LLM has its limitations. It is fantastic at processing insane amounts of data, but it really is limited when it comes to its multimodal inputs and outputs. That’s where humans still have a really interesting edge over technology, in that we’re good at collecting inconsistent, dirty information across different spheres and somehow making it make sense. Our organizations aren’t as clean as we’d like to believe in terms of information flowing from one side to another and neither is the world. And in the same way that self-driving cars have shown how difficult it actually is to drive, we take for granted how easily we transfer information and make use of it in the world.”
9. An evolving job market “There are a lot of AI evangelists who would have us believe that every job is going and everything will be taken over. From everything I’ve seen this isn’t the case – all AI has really done is promote us to being managers of our own work. Everyone still has to supervise the work. So, your legal AI is only as good as the lawyer who knows how to supervise it and understand whether or not the cases it’s citing are actually real. Your coding AI is only as good as the software engineer who looks at it and can say, ‘This is good code’. Because, at the end of the day, the output is meant for humans, and so humans are still going to have to judge it in some way, shape or form. So, I do think there’ll be an evolution, definitely, of how people work and what they do. But I don’t think we’re at this critical point that a lot of people are talking about with AI. I think right now the tool is more interesting than this omnipresent, all-knowing work machine [that some present it as being].”
10. An opportunity for inclusion “A lot of people in very powerful positions underestimate how much knowledge and information is stored in the people they are trying to help. That’s the shift that we need to see in how we think we can change the world. If we can shift the way we think about solutions – whether it’s in policy, philanthropy or technology – from top-down to bottom-up, we can find ourselves making massive leaps forward. No matter what it is we’re building, it’s important to remember that the answers can often lie with the people, the communities, the countries, the places where the problem actually lies. Just because the problem is there doesn’t mean the solution is not there as well. It just means they may not have access to the tools that can help them to solve it.”
11. The World Cup “The World Cup is definitely a cause for optimism. It is not a perfect event, but it’s something that I don’t take for granted. We’re living in a world where fewer and fewer things bring people together into the same space to resonate at the same frequency. We now live in a world where we’ve created an audience of one, where my ‘for you’ page is totally different to yours. The upside of that is that everyone can enjoy whatever niche they want to be in. The downside is that we’re living in different realities, and when people live in different realities, it’s a lot harder for them to see their similarities.
    That’s why something like the World Cup, and any sports event really, is such a powerful tool, a whole group of people coming into one space together to share the same story, the same experience. It brings the whole world together too, in a way that is sorely needed. How often does Haiti get to interact with the United States in a level way? Despite where you’ve come from and what your fortunes are supposed to be, when that first whistle is blown, anything is possible. It’s really the stuff of dreams. So, I’m genuinely excited about the World Cup because I think it’s going to bring a lot of people into America, and it’s going to bring America to a lot of people in a different way.”
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
    “We’ve learned how we can push the frontier”
    A briefing on the work of Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund so far – and where it’s going in the future
    Melanie Nakagawa joined Microsoft as Chief Sustainability Officer in 2023 and as part of her duties she took up responsibility for the company’s $1 billion Climate Innovation Fund (CIF). In her previous roles she was in private equity, government and non-profits, bridging technology, finance and innovation. We asked her for the lowdown on the fund – and how corporations can help in the battle against climate change…
    Why was Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund set up?
    Melanie Nakagawa: When Microsoft launched its sustainability commitments to become carbon negative, water positive, and zero waste by 2030, we realized that there were some technologies and solutions that did not exist at scale yet but would need to be broadly available by 2030. The Climate Innovation Fund was set up to build the solutions the world needs for the market of the future.
    How do you decide which investments to make?
    MN: As a global technology leader, Microsoft sees an incredible array of new technologies as they emerge in the market. We identify the sustainable innovations with the highest climate impact potential at the edge of commercial adoption, and we match the right type of capital and partnership to bring those solutions to market at scale
    What are some key things you have learned in the first five years of the fund?
    MN: We’ve learned how we can push the frontier by validating emerging technologies. For example, Microsoft negotiated a ten-year offtake agreement [a deal to buy future product at set terms] with a carbon capture company called Climeworks to draw down around 10,000 tons of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store it safely underground. The deal, signed in 2022, was one of the largest long-term direct air capture contracts signed at that time. And then through the CIF, Microsoft provided first-of-a-kind project financing for Climeworks’ Orca plant in Iceland, the first commercial direct-air capture facility. We’ve also learned how we can act as a bridge to mainstream capital so that early-stage projects can scale. An example of this is Stegra, a low carbon green steel business, which we helped secure project financing. We’ve also learned the role that AI can play to accelerate and optimize systems with speed and innovation, and we have a handful of companies in the portfolio that are AI-first.
    Tell me about a project the fund has invested in that you’re particularly proud of…
    MN: Something that’s becoming increasingly relevant for companies is how to reduce their emissions from air travel. Through the fund we invested in a company called Twelve, whose flagship product is a drop-in power-to-liquid sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) made using renewable electricity, water and carbon dioxide. We invested to support the scale-up of its Moses Lake Washington facility, and it also helped lead to an SAF offtake for Microsoft.
    I think that the way the offtake was put together is really useful for other corporations as a model because we structured it in a manner called ‘book and claim accounting’. That enables Microsoft to report lower emissions from using sustainable aviation fuel, but without requiring a physical delivery.
    We don’t own airplanes so what we ended up doing was partnering with Alaska Airlines, a Washington state-headquartered business. When business travel happens, Microsoft has paid for the sustainable aviation fuel, Alaska is able to fly with that fuel and Twelve gets the investment to continue to scale and grow their business. Everybody benefits.
    You have worked both within government and within the corporate world. What advantages do corporations have in making progress on tackling climate change?
    MN: One of the things I’ve learned from the various hats that I’ve worn is that it actually takes all actors to make change – it requires governments, corporations, technology and finance. The role that corporations play is first and foremost to act with speed and agility, rather than being beholden to political cycles, and to respond quickly to emerging risks and opportunities. They can also influence their own value chain, how they embed sustainability into how they procure, influencing emission reductions across thousands of suppliers. And of course corporations have the opportunity to build and drive markets by building the ecosystem for innovation.
    Are there particular pieces of advice that you give to CEOs and CSOs who are looking to multiply the effect of their spending on climate sustainability?
    MN: We’re seeing how AI can have a transformative effect in accelerating solutions across nearly every industry, and if you look at the CIF investments in AI-driven companies, they show how data automation and advanced analytics can open up emerging pathways for decarbonization, resilience and market growth. So what we often tell others and many of our customers and partners is that the pace of progress has to increase.
    This is an incredible moment for corporate leaders, investors and innovators to thoughtfully integrate AI into their strategies and use its potential to support the transition to lower carbon solutions, cleaner energy opportunities and more resilient and affordable solutions.
    What are some of the most interesting innovations coming down the track in the next five years?
    MN: As we look ahead five years to 2030, we see promising new technologies at the frontier of energy storage and generation, concrete and steel production, aviation fuel, carbon removal, and electronic waste recycling – all of which apply to our own global operations.
    Tied to this, I am also passionate about how we bring more first-time co-investors into these technology innovations, especially those supported by the CIF. So far we’ve been able to catalyze $12 billion in follow-on financing from the over $800 million we’ve allocated through the fund. So far for every dollar we’ve allocated, a $15 follow-on has been attracted. If we can do this for those tech innovations I mentioned, we will be able to accelerate the pace and scale of important solutions.
    What keeps you moving and motivated in your work?
    MN: One of the key draws for me to join Microsoft a few years ago was the CIF, the notion that we are able to deploy and allocate Microsoft resources including our AI capabilities and know-how into the companies that are building the future. I get really enthused about the direct investments we’re making to bring on new supply in energy, fuels, carbon removal and advanced materials.
    It’s great to know that ideas that were just a science project five or ten years ago are now commercial scale, mainstream products and projects that are being used by millions. And then there’s the opportunity to show the real meaning of strategic partnerships that deliver concrete results in unlocking the technologies, capital and talent needed to scale this market faster. It’s an exciting time for Microsoft’s Climate Innovation Fund.
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
    The Davos 10
    Since 2017, chef Stefanie Hein has been welcoming visitors to LOKAL, her Davos restaurant that celebrates the region and its ingredients. She shares her insider tips for the best places to visit in and around town
12. Gourmet cheese shop Käch sells amazing local, regional and international cheeses and delicacies from across the region. The truffle raclette is not to be missed! If you want to take the flavor home, they offer vacuum packing to ensure your cheese stays fresh for your journey.
13. The small, family-run store Bioladen Davos offers some great organic products. The store plays a key role in the “Ünschi Härdöpfel” initiative, which began in 2019 under Bioladen’s owner Martin Hänggi and brought potato farming back to the Davos mountains after a roughly 70-year hiatus. It has recently expanded to include sustainable spring water from the surrounding mountains.
14. Tucked away opposite the Parsenn funicular, Café Weber is a fourthgeneration, family-run bakery-café that has been a Davos staple since 1903. It’s known for its breads – the sourdough is exceptional – and pastries such as the Bündner Nusstorte (a traditional nut-filled cake). It also offers the best brunch in town.
15. Located at Promenade 109 in Davos Platz, Vreni’s Teekanne is a unique tea boutique. Owner Vreni Federici and her daughter Carmen warmly welcome visitors to chat about their travels to tea plantations and share the stories behind the rare and exotic brews they bring back to Switzerland.
16. Perched high above Davos, Kessler’s Kulm is a hotel, spa and restaurants that is the ultimate spot for panoramic Alpine views. It sits at Wolfgang Pass, making it a natural pitstop for skiers tackling the long red run. They refuel on mountain classics including fondue or enjoy a well-earned drink on the picturesque terrace before continuing their journey. It also has a rooftop spa which overlooks the Landwasser Valley
17. The area has two great microbreweries. Monsteiner, in the heart of the Walser Village of Monstein, was established more than 20 years ago and produces 30,000 liters of beer each year. Visitors can book tours and tastings to learn about the brewing process and sample their signature beers along with local charcuterie and cheeses. Meanwhile Davoser Craft Beer, founded in 2018, brings bold flavors to the local beer scene. Brewmaster Hannes Gutschmidt, a renowned connoisseur, ensures every batch retains its characteristic punch. Davoser has an annual output of about 40,000 liters and offers tours and tastings for those keen to dive into the art of craft brewing.
18. Mountain restaurant Chalet Güggel is a Davos classic, perched high on the slopes of Jakobshorn with wonderful views over the Alps. Accessible by foot or via the Jakobshorn cable car, it’s a favorite for hikers and skiers. Try the roast chicken – so good, it gave the restaurant its name!
19. The beautiful Waldhotel, with sweeping views across the valley, is close to everything yet feels a world apart, making it the perfect getaway.
20. Go Vertical is my insider tip for high-end ski and bike gear and the place to book brilliant mountain guides and avalanche courses. It also hosts the Backcountry Weeks Festival, a four-day event every January that brings together freeriders and backcountry enthusiasts from across the country.
21. A visit to Sertig Valley is a must. Go for lunch at one of the village’s superb restaurants, including Bergführer, set in a 450-year-old traditional house with a stunning terrace overlooking the valley. Chef Nina Eyer is known for reinventing simple, traditional dishes – such as mountain guide soup, a carrot-ginger broth finished with sunflower seeds – with the utmost dedication and her meals are a foodie’s delight. Walserhuus Sertig, meanwhile, is more than 100 years old and offers breathtaking views and classic Swiss cuisine, with a particular expertise in game. Don’t miss the wine cellar for a perfect pairing. After lunch, take the short walk to the waterfall at the end of the valley for some of the best views in the world!
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
    The Father of AI
    Signal visits the Eternal City to talk with Father Paolo Benanti about the Rome Call for Ethics in AI, the joys of vibe-coding and the prospects of a new Renaissance
    Rome is in the midst of a torrential downpour. Tourists in €2 rain ponchos scurry for cover in the caffès that line the Via Cavour, whose pavements have become makeshift tributaries of the Tiber. Water cascades down the steep steps of Via Magnanapoli, where an enterprising restaurant displays AI images of Pope Francis digging into a bowl of the house spaghetti. Those taking shelter inside will see further unlikely photographic endorsements from Charlie Chaplin, Marilyn Monroe and a series of medieval knights enjoying a nice carbonara.
    Just down the road meanwhile, in a quiet corner of a Franciscan monastery, we are snug, dry, and discussing some less frivolous uses of artificial intelligence. My host is Paolo Benanti, priest, author, professor of moral theology, tech advisor to the Vatican and one of the driving forces behind the influential Rome Call for AI Ethics. Before he found his vocation, however, he began training to be an engineer. “I studied on the other side of the street from here, at La Sapienza University,” he says. “I took the classes, but I didn’t finish my course because I found what I was looking for in the order. I said, ‘Okay, engineering, machines, computers, it’s all in my past.’”
    But tech turned out to be harder to kick than he had thought. After completing his six years of religious education to join the order, Benanti was offered the opportunity by the other friars to undertake further studies. By then he had realized which subject most excited him. “I wanted to reconcile the two sides of the street, to mix philosophy and technology,” he says. This novel idea wasn’t very warmly received at first. “Can you imagine the faces of people in the church, looking at me in 2007 and asking “Why would you want to do this?’” he asks. Benanti managed to convince them and started a PhD focusing on the ethics of neurotechnology, brain implants and artificial intelligence. “The idea that 18 years later the first thing the new pope [Leo XIV] would do is to identify AI as a key topic for the church… let’s say that there was a little bit of transformation in that time,” he says with a grin. “AI is not only transforming society, it has also transformed the perceptions of the church.”
    In 2017, having completed his PhD and begun lecturing at university alongside his religious devotions, Benanti met Pier Luigi Dal Pino, Microsoft’s Senior Regional Director of Government Affairs for Western Europe. “We started to talk about how AI is coming, and we found a lot of overlap between Microsoft’s perspective, my philosophical and ethical perspective and the interests of the Holy See,” he says. “We looked at each other and said, ‘Let’s try to do something together!’ And this is where Microsoft and academia and the Vatican started working on something that became the Rome Call for AI Ethics.”
    The Call enshrines six principles designed to promote an ethical approach to the development of frontier AI systems – transparency, inclusion, accountability, impartiality, reliability, and security & privacy. It was signed by representatives of the Pontifical Academy for Life, Microsoft, IBM, the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization and the Italian Ministry of Innovation on 28th February 2020. “It was a huge event with 2,000 people,” says Benanti. Thanks to the pandemic, it would be the last such gathering that year. “We signed and just a few days later, Rome went into lockdown.
    Covid-19 put plans to gain more supporters on ice for a couple of years. “But after a dialog with [Microsoft Vice Chair and President] Brad Smith we started again in 2022,” says Benanti. “The power of this Call is that it is for everyone. Its real success would be to reach the day on which it is [so widely accepted that] it is not needed anymore.” As a next step, the group set their sights on gaining broad cultural and religious support. “We were able to obtain positive feedback from leaders of Judaism and Islam,” says Benanti. “In January 2023, the Rome Call became the first document in history on which the three monotheistic religions were in agreement.”
    At the signing by Jewish and Muslim leaders, Benanti made a keynote speech. “In the manmachine relationship, the true expert and bearer of values is man,” he told the assembled dignitaries. “Human dignity and rights point out that man must be protected in the man-machine relationship.”
    His comments were backed up by Brad Smith. “We must ensure that AI remains a tool created by humanity for humanity,” he said. “It’s imperative that we guide this work with a strong commitment to high ethical standards and a broad sense of societal responsibility.”
    Benanti’s next move, in 2024, was a trip to Hiroshima, where representatives of 21 world religions signed the Call, and Amandeep Singh Gill, the UN Secretary-General’s Envoy on Technology, expressed his approval. “He said ‘You built something that we wanted to build!’” says Benanti with pride.
    For all the groundswell of support, however, there is no statutory force to the Rome Call. “It is not a compliance list; we don’t check or mark what people do and don’t do,” says Benanti. “My perspective is that of an ethicist, so in a way I get to pose questions and run away before giving any answers! But the idea of opening up the debate is fundamentally to ask people, ‘What would you like to be remembered for?’ So, to every engineer now working at a tech company, we ask the question of which of two models they prefer, AI versus humans or AI as an enhancement. We want this symbiotic relationship in which the tools are a co-pilot not an autopilot.”
    There are some clear practical advantages for organizations that sign up. “We want CEOs to see ethics not as the enemy of business but as something that can give it value,” says Benanti. “These days people want to see an ethical commitment from their company in order to feel that their job has real merit. Signing the Rome Call can be a huge magnet for companies to draw in the best talent.”
    Benanti often wears an Apple watch and a smart ring and enthuses about the democratizing force of technology. “We are eight billion people on Earth,” he says. “Something like six billion of us have a smartphone. But only 27 million people are able to code. That means that 99.65 percent of people are excluded. But now I can use natural language, and the AI can translate it into code – and I can take possession of the machine.”
    The friar has dabbled in AI-generated code himself. He gestures with delight at a new set of windows in his study. “Welcome to the revenue from my vibe-coding!” he says. “I designed four apps, which were sold on the market and gave us the money to change the windows.” The apps, which include one which helps people use the Zettelkasten brain method to help memorize notes and another for creating booklets for religious celebrations, “give me the ownership of the machine so I don’t have to depend on someone else’s software,” says Benanti. “Imagine we are heading for a future in which we are giving silicon back to people. They will not be customers of silicon anymore, but its owners. That could be a huge evolution, moving from 0.35 percent of the population able to code to 25 percent, much like the revolution we had with the invention of the printing press during the Renaissance when people started being able to read and to study.”
    What’s more, Benanti says, “An AI companion could be the best servant for anyone – it could be a way of democratizing privilege, including education, that before was reserved for a small number of people. It could be the tool that allows us to express a better humanity for a much higher number of people.” He does, however, strike a note of caution. “We have to be realistic too, that this has not always happened with big changes in history and it’s not a one way street. In Europe, we reached a higher level of understanding of what it means to be human with the French Revolution. We had these principles – Liberté, Egalité, Fraternité. But then you can see what happened with Nazism and fascism. The fact that it’s not a one way street is exactly why it’s so important to have an ethical debate about this technology. Because AI could be the best tool to give humanity the best ever quality of life – or it could be the worst nightmare that allows a few elites to dominate others.”
    As with the Renaissance and later technological leaps forward, Benanti can see AI unleashing new creativity. “If we went to Paris in the 19th century, you would see some artists painting what they saw, point by point, working for a month. Then a strange man came along with a box and a cape, made a click and in five seconds he had captured the same subject of the images as the painting. Did photography kill the painting? No! It democratized the making of images.”
    Benanti foresees a role for distinguishing AI products from human creation. “We have to develop tools that allow us to connect a digital asset to its producer,” he says. “If I shoot a picture, I should be able to put on a cryptographical blueprint that connects it with my name, to take responsibility for it. Companies that make AI models can blueprint any AI-generated images as well, so that we have two guardrails – human-produced and AIproduced. It will be like the little lock that you see on a website. It will not guarantee to you that the content of the website is perfect, but would you put your credit card number in a site that does not have the lock? No! People have the right to know if there is a machine or a human being behind the content.”
    Benanti draws a further parallel, this time with journalism, drawing on his experience as chair of the Italian government’s Commission on Artificial Intelligence for Information. “You can write something that is not true as a journalist, but if you can connect your name to it, you make a chain of responsibility. What is your professional name? Your area of expertise? Your reputation? We have to do the same things for all digital creations.”
    Is there a worry, though, that people, particularly future generations, will cease to care whether cultural artifacts – music, film, photography, writing – have been created by AI or not? “I think that there will be processed creativity and it will be like processed food,” says Benanti. “You have a lot of consumption of Pringles today, but they don’t taste like food made by la mamma!”
    On the morning I flew to Rome to meet with Father Benanti, I got talking to the taxi driver on the way to the airport. When he heard that I was going to meet the Vatican’s expert on AI, he told me how rattled he was by recent headlines about the technology undercutting white collar jobs, and asked me to pose the question of what his teenaged daughters should aim for in their education and careers.
    Benanti considers the issue carefully. “We are in a transitional time and we cannot give guarantees to anyone,” he says. However, he warns against simply projecting forward based on some of the early indicators of AI-related job losses. “For evolutionary reasons our brains think in a linear fashion and you can have non-linear processes in AI, so it’s not so easy to make predictions and you may make really bad choices if you simply extrapolate recent tendencies in the direction of tomorrow.”
    “The key point to make is that we have no other option than to bet on the next generation, and to enable them to be the best version of humanity that they can, which means equipping them with the best reasoning capabilities. Human thinking is likely to be the most highly required resource in the coming years. So it is vital to allow them to develop critical thinking, including ethics.”
    In the last years of his reign, Pope Francis spoke out in favor of an ethical approach to AI, sending a powerful message to the delegates at the Hiroshima conference. “I ask you to show the world that we are united in asking for a proactive commitment to protect human dignity in this new era of machines,” he said. The new pope, Leo XIV has also made interventions on the technology, praising its potential in health care and science but also telling schoolchildren in the US that “Using AI responsibly means using it in ways that help you grow – never in ways that distract you from your dignity or your call to holiness.”
    “This pope is really open-minded,” says Benanti. “He knows that AI is one of the most transformative things that we have now. He says that he took the name Leo XIV because Leo XIII was the one that opened up the social doctrine of the church with Rerum Novarum [an 1891 encyclical letter which addressed industrial-era issues produced by the adoption of new technology].” While Benanti says we will have to “wait and see” which final policies on AI will be pursued by the new pope, he hopes and believes that they will continue in a direction of being open to all rather than narrowly focused on the Catholic community. “We want to have an alliance of all different people on AI,” he says. “We want to push things in the direction of the biggest good for everyone.”
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
    “The leader has to understand, live, breathe and drive AI”
    Former British prime minister Rishi Sunak has long been known for his interest in new technology. He tells Signal what he has learned about how leaders can make the most of the AI revolution for their countries and companies
    Rishi Sunak was educated at the universities of Oxford and Stanford. He became an analyst at Goldman Sachs and went on to work at hedge funds and co-found an investment company. His election as MP for Richmond and Northallerton in 2015 was followed by a meteoric political ascent. He became chancellor in 2020 and then, two years later, at the age of 42, took up office as the youngest British prime minister in more than 200 years. Since his premiership ended in 2024 he has continued to represent his constituency as MP, worked in academia and launched The Richmond Project, a charity dedicated to improving numeracy in the UK, with his wife Akshata Murty. He has also taken up advisory roles with Goldman Sachs, Microsoft and Anthropic, where he provides strategic perspectives at the intersection of geopolitical trends, technological innovation and the AI revolution.
    When did you first start to engage properly with AI?
    Rishi Sunak I became UK chancellor in February 2020 and had to put a budget together for a G7 country in three weeks. I thought that would be the hardest thing that I ever had to do in the job, but it turned out to be the easiest because Covid hit a week or two after that and my tenure as chancellor was largely dominated by dealing with the disruptive impact it had on the country. But then in autumn 2021, I had the opportunity to do a big set piece speech at the annual party conference setting out a longer-term vision for the British economy. So I sat down late that summer and started to think about what I wanted to say, having spent the last 18 months firefighting. And that’s when I thought, ‘I want to talk about AI’.
    What did you know about it at that stage?
    RS: I was very fortunate to have been to Stanford for business school and then lived in California. Because of that experience I had a network of friends who were involved in the technology – in particular Fei-Fei Li, a professor at Stanford Business School, who is known as the godmother of AI. Speaking with them I understood that AI was going to be a general-purpose technology like steam or electricity, a really big deal. So in the conference speech in October 2021, I said that AI is going to happen and it’s going to change everything. It has the potential to transform whole economies and societies. I talked about the hundreds of billions of pounds of economic benefit it could bring to the UK and how I wanted us to take a lead, and I set out some policies to help us achieve that. Looking back now, I’m more convinced than ever about what I said then about the potential of AI.
    In October 2022 you became prime minister and a year later you hosted the world’s first global AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park. How was that experience?
    RS: It is something that I’m really proud of. I was able to just rise above a lot of the day-to-day and do something that was more forward-looking, which was something I didn’t manage to do enough when I was prime minister. In 2022 I sat down with Demis Hassabis of DeepMind, Dario Amodei of Anthropic and Sam Altman of OpenAI, which I think was the first time all three of them had been together outside of a congressional hearing. They told me something that really resonated with me, which was how they were being continually surprised by how quickly and consistently AI technology was continuing to improve. They were saying that there are incredible transformational benefits that will come from this, but that like all new technologies, it’s capable of being misused. They were trying to be responsible in educating people like me about this, which is to their credit – I’m grateful to them for that. So that was the genesis of the summit, because there wasn’t a dedicated place on the international calendar for leaders to talk about AI. There was an appreciation among leaders and leading technology companies that it was a worthwhile endeavor and people were pretty energized by the conversations and the set of agreements that came out of Bletchley. In a way, though, the biggest legacy for this summit is that it has continued every year since. I wanted it to become a permanent fixture in the international calendar.
    You announced the creation of the AI Safety Institute (AISI) at the same time. What did you want it to achieve?
    RS: We wanted to allow for pre-deployment testing [of frontier AI models], to evaluate the risks to national security in domains like cyber, radiation, nuclear and bio. The companies creating those models have been working very co-operatively with the Institute, in part because it is not a regulator, it is a technical body. It’s filled with really smart people who work with our security services and national security teams. They can red-team and test models because of that heritage in a way that the companies themselves can’t alone, in an environment of transparency and collaboration. I think it has been a real addition to our collective security as a result.
    You stepped down as prime minister in July 2024, but you remain the MP for Richmond and Northallerton in Yorkshire. How are you seeing AI being used in your own constituency?
    RS: I have a very rural constituency and one of the things I’m interested in is agriculture – I joke that I represent more sheep than people! If you go to a local dairy farm you’ll see these cows wandering around wearing Fitbit-like devices which allow phones to track all sorts of things. It gives them alerts when the cows are at risk of mastitis [inflammation of the udder, caused by an infection], which is obviously very important for dairy cows. So you’re starting to see how it can optimize farming, particularly for smaller-scale family farms, which operate on very thin margins. These small improvements in efficiency can make a real difference, and they have broader applications around the world. The next AI summit in February 2026 is in India, where something like 40 percent of people work in agriculture, much of it very small scale, and being able to demonstrate AI applications in agriculture there will be extremely powerful.
    As well as remaining an MP, you have begun working with leading tech companies including Microsoft, for whom you are a senior advisor. What have you learned about how business and political leaders should approach AI technology?
    RS: I think that there is increasingly this view that AI can’t be something that is just left to the IT department. The leader has to understand, live, breathe and drive it. In government it is so farreaching in its transformational potential across public service delivery, economic growth and the function of government itself that it has to be driven by the prime minister or the president, from Downing Street, from the White House, from Delhi, wherever it is. Unless it’s coming from the person at the top, this just won’t happen.
    It must feel quite daunting for leaders dealing with this, as they’re already trying to do so many things at the same time…
    RS: Yes, but that’s the job! I didn’t get into politics to deal with a pandemic, I got into politics because I believe in public service and felt I could contribute, make a difference. But those are the cards I was dealt and those are the cards you have to play. And leaders should actually be thankful, because we’ve got lots of challenges in the West, particularly in Europe, when it comes to economic growth. So in a way you should be pleased to be running a country at a time when this thing has come along which has the potential to really help you and make a massive difference quite quickly. Your life would be far worse if you didn’t have it. And technology has never been more interlinked with national power and national security than it is today so policymakers really don’t have an excuse not to be on top of these things.
    How should leaders reassure people about AI?
    RS: The fears – around safety, economic displacement and jobs, around kids – are there, the anxiety is there. So political leaders have this extra onus to be candid with their countries about this change that is coming and to lead them through it. You need to show them how this is going to benefit them and their families, how it can be made to work for them, and then provide them with the tools and policies to ensure that they can make good on that. I do slightly worry that we need more focus on that because ultimately people won’t adopt a technology that they are scared of, and if they are scared of it they are much more likely to start arguing for regulatory roadblocks to stymie development and then we won’t get all the benefits. You’ve got to bring your countries, your public with you on this journey. But I think it’s eminently doable.
    As AI permeates business, how should people prepare themselves for the new world of work?
    RS: I’ve thought about this a lot in the context of my kids, who are 13 and 14 years old and are going to enter this world of work soon. What is clear is that regardless of what field you are in you need to be AI literate. The fastest-growing skill demanded on LinkedIn in the UK and US is AI literacy, and that’s across industries. You won’t necessarily lose your job to AI, but you might lose your job to someone who is proficient at AI. But beyond that, I think there are three things I am thinking about for my kids. The first is that you need to be good at figuring out the ‘Why?’. AI will not be able to replace the critical reasoning question, the ‘Why?’ rather than the ‘What?’ and the ‘How?’ The second thing is that when people enter the workforce they are very quickly going to have to manage teams of AI agents, and that is new because most people in their twenties are not managing anyone else. How do you divide up the tasks? How do you make sure that what you’re getting back is right? How does it fit together? Then the third thing is that there are certain skills which are just human-centric. Interestingly, of the top ten ‘hot skills’ on LinkedIn, two of them relate to AI but the other eight are all human-centered, around what we would typically describe as soft skills – empathy, leadership, conflict resolution, team building, and so on. So there’s a set of very human-oriented horizontal skills I would encourage my kids to be really good at. But again, that’s where the onus is on government to make sure people can equip themselves with the expertise they need to prosper.
    Will all the AI prizes go to the nations that create the technology?
    RS: I think the lesson from history is that you don’t have to invent the technology to be the beneficiary of it. That is the thesis of Jeffrey Ding in his book, Technology and the Rise of Great Powers. The printing press was invented in Mainz in Germany but it was the Dutch and the English who got the most benefit out of it because they built a ‘diffusion infrastructure’ around it. It’s a mix of complementary inventions, regulatory approaches and economic incentives. For example, both England and the Netherlands had quite liberal censorship rules, which spawned lots of creativity. In England we pioneered copyright law, and that was an incentive for writers to produce things, knowing they would get the economic benefit from them. And then because of the financial markets that existed in both London and Amsterdam, you could hedge paper prices which meant that printing companies could plan more straightforwardly.
    The point being that you don’t need to be the US or China, racing at the frontier to develop the latest and greatest model, in order to be a country that is going to benefit from this incredible technology. Leaders and CEOs need to be thinking about the diffusion infrastructure. How do we use this thing, spread it at speed? What are the accompanying policies we need to put in place? Because history tells us we can do that.
    Can AI strengthen democracy?
    RS: I think it can, for two very specific reasons. One is state capacity. A lot of disenchantment at the moment is because there’s a perception in many Western countries that stuff is just not getting done, everything’s too hard. At its best, AI can transform people’s interaction with everything that the state has to do for them, and I think that will be enormously beneficial. If everyone’s day-today lived experience of interacting with the state is that much quicker, cheaper and more accurate, that will really help. And secondly, the thing that we all need more of is economic growth and for all the reasons we’ve talked about, AI is the only really big thing out there that could transform our growth trajectory over the next five to ten years. More economic growth and rising living standards alongside better state capacity can restore people’s confidence in democracy, which has taken a bit of a knock as of late.
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.
    Branching out
    Bettina von Hagen runs an innovative forest investment fund, EFM, which has received backing from Microsoft’s CIF. She tells us how her organization is improving the management of forests to unlock their benefits for investors – and the planet
    Tell me about your background and how you came to EFM.
    Bettina von Hagen: I co ‑founded this company 20 years ago and I’ve been doggedly persistent in the vision we established back then. But if I go further back, I’ve been passionate about forests and biodiversity since a visit to the Galapagos Islands when I was 13. That was a mind ‑blowing experience – seeing island biogeography, evolution, speciation, all of those things made the world fall into place for me studied biology and then returned to the Galapagos for a year, working at a research station as a volunteer and later as a guide on boats. After traveling for a while and working in Europe, I got an MBA from the University of Chicago, went into commercial banking for about six years and realized that I loved finance. I loved making deals, threading the needle and making things possible – but only if it was in pursuit of environmental and social goals.
    So banking and I parted company. I found a wonderful nonprofit called Ecotrust, which focuses on using private capital and grant funding to create enterprises that advance environmental and social aims, specifically in the Pacific Northwest’s coastal temperate rainforest. While I was there we created a banking institution, redeveloped a historic building to [green building rating] LEED Gold standards, and eventually came up with our best idea: creating a forest investment fund. That became EFM. Today, EFM is independent from Ecotrust, it’s a privately owned forestland investment company with 14 employees and over $500M under management and advisement.
    What is EFM set up to do?
    BVH: Our purpose is to acquire forests on behalf of investors and move them toward a desired future condition. That condition is one in which they are financially sound, store more carbon, produce higher ‑quality habitats, protect water, enhance soil and produce benefits for people and communities – with a special emphasis on tribal communities.
    We want forests that are healthy and productive, producing a stream of benefits for the environment and for people over the long term. It’s really quite simple: managing forests as if they matter, and as if people matter.
    What are the first steps with new acquisitions?
    BVH: When we buy a forest property we evaluate what the desired future condition is. It’s always site ‑specific and community ‑specific, but many themes are similar. In a lot of forests, it’s about extending the age of trees before they are felled. In the American West, where we work, trees are very long ‑lived. Conifers like Sitka spruce, western hemlock, Douglas fir and ponderosa pine can live for a thousand years. They are very productive at 70, 80, 90, 100 years old – that’s when they’re at their peak in terms of wood quality and quantity.
    But rotation ages have declined considerably over the last decade. Trees are now harvested at 35 to 40 years old – essentially as teenagers, long and skinny and producing just a single saw log. Natural forests with diverse species and age classes have been turned into something resembling plantations. Our intent is to move forests to longer rotations, work on structural complexity – trees of different sizes and heights – and focus on the understory [the vegetation between the forest canopy and the forest floor].
    What does that involve?
    BVH: One common practice in the region is spraying herbicides and pesticides by helicopter twice during the planting cycle. We don’t do that. No herbicides, no pesticides, except for those needed for persistent invasive species that don’t respond to other controls. We grow trees to much older ages and use thinning [the selective removal of trees to reduce density]. Commercial thinning has almost disappeared because of short rotations, but if you grow trees to 60, 70, 80 years, thinning makes sense again.
    That creates healthier forests. Susceptibility to disease and fire comes from single ‑species, single ‑age plantations. Diversified forests are more resilient. Forest health is a primary driver, but productivity is also significant. We’re doing this in a commercial context, for investors, aiming to provide good returns. By growing trees older, you produce more valuable products, more volume per acre, at lower cost.
    How do you make money out of forests?
    BVH: The fundamental thing is that trees grow and forests are appreciating assets. Depending on site productivity and age, trees can grow three, six or even ten percent per year. That’s unusual compared to other assets. Forests don’t need annual harvests like agriculture. You can delay harvests for years, and the trees just get more valuable. That gives flexibility to time harvests for markets. If the market is poor one year, you can hold on – as long as your capital structure doesn’t require heavy cash payments. That flexibility also makes forests excellent for carbon strategies. You can extend rotations for 10, 20, 30 years, making forests more valuable while timing harvests for timber markets and carbon markets.
    At EFM, we’ve entered into ten ‑year carbon contracts with Microsoft and others, selling carbon credits from our projects. So monetization comes from timber sales, carbon sales and capital appreciation when selling appreciated properties.
    But how do you prove the value you’re adding in terms of CO2 removal?
    BVH: The answer is additionality. All forests store carbon, and for Northwest tree species, carbon content is well understood – you just have to measure a tree’s height, diameter and taper to make the calculation. The carbon being transacted (through carbon credits) represents emissions reductions or storage that go above and beyond what would occur under standard business practices and existing regulations.
    If a forest is clear ‑cut every 40 years, which is common practice, it doesn’t store additional carbon and wouldn’t qualify under rigorous carbon methodologies. Additionality is key, especially for buyers like Microsoft who want high ‑quality credits.
    One recent innovation is dynamic baselines. A dynamic baseline looks at what is above and beyond common practices not just at the start of a project but periodically during it. If business practices or regulations change, the baseline changes too. That way, additionality is tested throughout the project to ensure it’s truly adding carbon beyond what would exist without it.
    How do you evaluate millions of trees?
    BVH: Forestry has long carried out inventories for timber; now we also do so for carbon. It’s statistical. You select plots based on a random sampling design, measure them, and extrapolate to the forest as a whole.
    Technology like drones, LIDAR [a system which works on the principle of radar, but uses light from a laser] and aerial images are being developed, but carbon methodologies haven’t yet accepted them. So right now it’s all done on physical sampling. Teams establish plots with known locations, randomly selected. Independent third ‑party verifiers remeasure those plots to ensure the carbon volume being transacted is actually there. It’s complex work. Plots can be on steep slopes, across rivers, anywhere. Inventory teams and verifiers have to reach and measure them.
    What happens if there’s a massive wildfire? Is that like a financial crash?
    BVH: Yes. Fires, disease, wind – all can happen. That’s addressed through permanence, another key criterion. Carbon projects contribute credits to a buffer pool. If you produce, say, 100,000 credits a year, you put a portion into the buffer, depending on your project’s risk. The Registry manages it. If there’s an unintentional reversal – a fire – the environment is made whole by retiring credits from the buffer. Verifiers assess the fire’s impact, measure lost carbon and retire the appropriate credits.
    Tell me about the investors in EFM.
    BVH: They are all financial investors, but are motivated by their stakeholders to consider sound investments that also deliver strong social and environmental impacts. They care about the rate of return and about forestry’s role in their portfolio based on usual financial considerations. But they also care about impact – for example, some really care about salmon, and our forestry is very much focused on enhancing salmon habitats and recovery. They may come for the fish, for the carbon, for biodiversity or because they love forests. They all share our belief that superior financial returns are best achieved by creating environmental and social impact alongside economic value.
    What was the last big forest that you took on?
    BVH: The last big property that we purchased is actually the one that Microsoft participated in. It’s 68,000 acres of coastal temperate rainforest in the Olympic Peninsula, an absolutely breathtaking property. The Olympic Peninsula is west of Seattle, a three-million-acre landmass that is the furthest western point in the continental US. It is dominated by an almost million-acre national park that has glacial peaks, world-class rivers and old-growth forests that descend to the Pacific Ocean to the west. There is a wildlife refuge along the coast, which is full of rocks and sea stacks that harbor millions of seabirds and orcas and otters. The land that we purchased has been commercial forest land for 80 years and it is phenomenally well situated for the type of forest management that we plan to implement, which is to increase the rotation age of the trees, to create more structural complexity and work on restoration of the rivers. The Olympic rainforest stores more carbon than almost any other terrestrial ecosystem, because there is an absence of fire.
    Microsoft’s backing for the project was absolutely instrumental. As well as the ten-year offtake agreement they made with us, their backing gave investors a lot of confidence around the financial performance of this forest and was instrumental for us in bringing other investors to the table.
    What motivates you personally in this work?
    BVH: It’s the intermingling of the natural and the financial. It’s a fascinating Venn diagram. For me, forests are about health, productivity, resilience and long‑term benefits for people and the environment. I can’t wait to get up each day and get more capital to acquire more forests and move them on that path. I think it is part of the equation of how we are going to prosper on this planet.
    This is a digital version of a sample feature from Issue 3 of Signal magazine. To explore the full issue, view the complete flip book here.