In 1998 I had the honor of speaking at a White House press conference alongside President Bill Clinton and Vice-President Al Gore. They announced the agenda for American leadership of the Internet, marking a pivotal moment of government endorsement. This recognition signaled a transformative change for the country, with America fully committing to this new frontier. It wasn’t about politics; it was about sound economics, and we’ve seen the results over the last few decades.

We are now at another inflection point. Incoming U.S. President Donald Trump has emerged as a strong advocate for AI. He has outlined what he thinks the technology can do; nominated David Sacks, a tech entrepreneur and venture capitalist, as AI czar; and selected two other Silicon Valley leaders – Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy – who understand the significance of transformation and disruption, to oversee government efficiency. I see this recognition as a parallel to the Internet, though AI will sweep in even more change and at a much faster rate than I think most people are imagining.

So, as movers and shakers from around the world gather in Davos for the World Economic Forum’s Annual Meeting, it feels like an appropriate time for leaders to press the “pause” button and think about whether their current leadership strategy is working – and more importantly, if their approach to AI will allow them to survive this next tech transition.
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Spain’s Xcalibur Smart Mapping offers a wide range of advanced services and technologies for the exploration and evaluation of mineral, energy and environmental resources. Owning a fleet of more than forty aircraft equipped with geophysical systems, it maps countries and lands to identify the properties of the sub- and above-surface, and discover potential areas of natural resources, such as critical minerals, hydrogen, or geothermal. Mining and energy companies such as BHP and Rio Tinto, Shell, Repsol, ExxonMobil are customers as are Zambia, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Kazakhstan and the U.S.

Xcalibur is helping tackle one of the biggest challenges facing the energy transition: finding the critical raw minerals and resources needed for renewable energy systems, electric vehicles and energy storage. According to the International Energy Agency (IEA) demand for critical minerals is projected to nearly triple by 2030 and grow to over 3.5 times current levels by 2050, reaching nearly 40 million tons annually.

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