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In a global BCG survey 84% of companies said responsible AI needs to be a priority but only 16% said they have implemented a mature program because they lack operational solutions and implementation tools. That gap – and growing consumer distrust of science and technology – are prompting action. This week the World Economic Forum announced that it had convened executives from the world’s largest tech and consumer-focused companies – including Apple, Microsoft, Google, Amazon, IKEA, Walmart and Mastercard- alongside government officials and leading consumer advocates to create a framework for corporates to commit to earning digital trust. Meanwhile, Orange France, L’Oreal, health insurer Malakoff Humanis and BCG Gamma separately unveiled an initiative called “Positive AI” which will include the creation of independently validated “responsible AI” labels for participating enterprises.

“The most important decision we can make in the 21st century is whether we will work together to build trust or watch innovation fail,” Daniel Dobrygowski, the Forum’s Head of Governance and Trust, said in a statement. “By focusing on the values and expectations of individuals and by committing to security and reliability, accountability and oversight and inclusive, ethical and responsible use of technology, we can make the technology we develop more trustworthy.”

Read on to learn more about this story and the week's most important technology news impacting business.

By recycling carbon from industrial off-gases; syngas generated from biomass resources such as municipal solid waste, organic industrial waste or agricultural waste; and reformed biogas, U.S. scale-up LanzaTech, a World Economic Forum Tech Pioneer, says it can displace 30% of crude oil used today and reduce global CO2 emissions by as much as 10%.
Its patented gas fermentation technology has already stopped over 200,000 tons of CO2 from being emitted into the atmosphere, according to the company. The waste carbon emissions are converted into fuels, chemicals and everyday goods, that would otherwise come from fossil resources. Its carbon transformation solution, which can be deployed in any geography using available waste streams, creating new circular models of production and reducing the carbon footprint of the things people use every day, has earned it a place as a finalist for this year’s The Earthshot Prize, a prestigious environmental award created by the U.K.’s Prince William. (The winner of the prize will be announced December 2).
Now, with the help of energy company Suncor, LanzaTech is testing a new bioreactor design (pictured here) that promises greater efficiency and lower operating costs, a significant development that could help make petroleum-free materials and goods more economical.

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Pactum has developed an AI-based system that helps global companies automatically conduct personalized, commercial negotiations with suppliers on a massive scale. It calls its AI offering negotiation-as a-service. The company says it is enabling companies across the financial, manufacturing, retail, consumer packaged goods, logistics, industrial, and auto sectors to create between $2 million and $11 million of new value per $100 million of spend. Customers include Walmart, Maersk, Vodafone and Wesco, a multinational electrical distribution and services company.

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Amount of investment made in renewable energy in 2022, exceeding for the first time ever fossil-fuel systems investment which totaled $450 billion, according to McKinsey. To reach Net Zero this one-to-one-ratio would need to move to a four-to-one ratio, according to Bloomberg analysis.