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The CEO of Microsoft, the former head of Google and the chief of ChatGPT are among the business elites meeting a slew of top US and European officials in Lisbon this weekend for secretive closed-door talks on global affairs.
This year’s Bilderberg meeting – an annual summit bringing together the business and political elite for an off-the-record conference – is now underway in the Portuguese capital, and AI is set to top the agenda.
Open AI CEO Sam Altman and Microsoft head honcho Satya Nadella are expected to head the talks on the rise of artificial intelligence and how the technology is set to shape our future.
But the 69th Bilderberg meeting will also see the northern hemisphere’s elite tackle topics such as the threat posed by China, the Russia-Ukraine war, climate change and the banking system, with the likes of NATO secretary-general Jens Stoltenberg, Pfizer CEO Albert Bourla and BP chief Bernard Looney in attendance.
The Bilderberg meetings are described as ‘a forum for informal discussions about major issues’.
It is argued that their private nature gives elite participants the freedom to take part as individuals who ‘are not bound by conventions of their office or by pre-agreed positions’, meaning more candid discussions can be had.
But the secrecy surrounding the events has led conspiracy theorists to suggest that Bilderberg is a group of rich and powerful kingmakers seeking to impose a one-world government and mould the future of humanity to their benefit.
The Bilderberg Group — so called because it first met in 1954 at the Hotel Bilderberg in the Netherlands to ‘foster dialogue between Europe and North America’ — is made up of around 130 self-proclaimed ‘leading citizens’ who meet annually to discuss ‘issues of common interest’.