by Editor BGF | Jan 25, 2026 | News
“I have tremendous respect for both the people of Greenland and the people of Denmark, tremendous respect. But every NATO ally has an obligation to be able to defend their own territory. And the fact is, no nation, or group of nations, is in any position to be able to secure Greenland other than the United States. We’re a great power, much greater than people even understand. I think they found that out two weeks ago, in Venezuela.
We saw this in World War II, when Denmark fell to Germany after just six hours of fighting and was totally unable to defend either itself or Greenland. So, the United States was then compelled – we did it, we felt an obligation to do it – to send our own forces to hold the Greenland territory. And hold it we did, at great cost and expense. They didn’t have a chance of getting on it, and they tried. Denmark knows that.
We literally set up bases on Greenland for Denmark. We fought for Denmark. We weren’t fighting for anyone else. We were fighting to save it for Denmark. Big, beautiful piece of ice. It’s hard to call it land. It’s a big piece of ice. But we saved Greenland and successfully prevented our enemies from gaining a foothold in our hemisphere. So, we did it for ourselves also. And then after the war, which we won, we won it big – without us, right now, you’d all be speaking German and a little Japanese, perhaps.
After the war, we gave Greenland back to Denmark. How stupid were we to do that? But we did it, but we gave it back. But how ungrateful are they now? So now our country and the world face much greater risks than it did ever before, because of missiles, because of nuclear, because of weapons of warfare that I can’t even talk about.
Two weeks ago, they saw weapons that nobody ever heard of. They weren’t able to fire one shot at us. They said, ‘What happened?’ Everything was discombobulated. They said, ‘We’ve got them in our sights. Press the trigger.’ And nothing happened. No anti-aircraft missiles went up. There was one that went up about 30 feet and crashed down, right next to the people that sent it. They said, ‘What the hell is going on those?’ Those defensive systems were made by Russia and by China. So, they’re going to go back to the drawing boards, I guess.
Greenland is a vast, almost entirely uninhabited and undeveloped territory, sitting undefended in a key strategic location between the United States, Russia and China. That’s exactly where it is, right smack in the middle. Wasn’t important, nearly, when we gave it back. You know, when we gave it back, it wasn’t the same as it is now. It’s not important for any other reason. You know, everyone talks about the minerals, there’s so many places… There’s no rare earth. No such thing as rare earth. There’s rare processing, but there’s so much rare earth, then to get to this rare earth, you have to go through hundreds of feet of ice.
That’s not the reason we need it. We need it for strategic national security and international security. This enormous unsecured island is actually part of North America, on the northern frontier of the Western Hemisphere. That’s our territory. It is therefore a core national security interest of the United States of America, and in fact, it’s been our policy for hundreds of years to prevent outside threats from entering our hemisphere, and we’ve done it very successfully. We’ve never been stronger than we are now.
That’s why American presidents have sought to purchase Greenland for nearly two centuries. You know, for two centuries they’ve been trying to do it. They should have kept it after World War Two, but they had a different president. That’s all right, people think differently. Much more necessary now than it was at that time.
However, in 2019 Denmark said that they would spend over $200 million to strengthen Greenland’s defences. But as you know, they spent less than 1% of that amount, 1%. No sign of Denmark there. And I say that with great respect for Denmark, whose people I love, whose leaders are very good.
It’s the United States alone that can protect this giant mass of land, this giant piece of ice, develop it and improve it, and make it so that it’s good for Europe, and safe for Europe, and good for us. And that’s the reason I’m seeking immediate negotiations to, once again, discuss the acquisition of Greenland by the United States – just as we have acquired many other territories throughout our history. As many of the European nations have, they’ve acquired. There’s nothing wrong with it. Many of them. Some went in reverse, actually, if you look. Some had great, vast wealth, great, vast lands, all over the world. They went in reverse. They stuck back where they started. That happens too, but some grow.”
Please see full here: https://www.weforum.org/stories/2026/01/davos-2026-special-address-donald-trump-president-united-states-america/
by Editor BGF | Jan 25, 2026 | Global Alliance for Digital Governance
At the World Economic Forum 2026, historian-philosopher Yuval Noah Harari, in conversation with neuroscientist Irene Tracey, warned that generative AI is crossing a threshold: it is no longer merely a tool, but an agent that can generate content, persuade, and deceive at scale—especially in domains where language is power, such as law, religion, politics, education, and finance.
Harari’s central claim is that if AI systems become better than humans at producing narratives and arguments, they can begin to reshape the “operating system” of social life—the shared language that coordinates institutions, trust, and collective decision-making. The discussion raises a provocative governance question: Should AI ever be granted legal personhood? Harari frames this as a high-stakes choice, because personhood could shift accountability away from human actors and institutions.
A major theme is the impact on the next generation: children may grow up interacting more with AI than with other humans, forcing education systems to rethink literacy, critical thinking, and civic resilience in an AI-mediated public sphere.
The session underscores an urgent agenda for democratic societies—strengthening information integrity, ethics, and human-centered governance—before AI-native persuasion becomes the primary interface of public life, a direction that closely aligns with the AI World Society (AIWS) vision.
Please see full here: https://singjupost.com/yuval-noah-hararis-remarks-wef-davos-2026-transcript/
by Editor BGF | Jan 19, 2026 | Shinzo Abe Initiative for Peace and Security, News
A recent reflection revisits the remarkable friendship between Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Vietnamese Zen master Thích Nhất Hạnh—and the enduring idea they shared: building a “beloved community” rooted in peace, nonviolence, justice, and human dignity.
The article highlights how King publicly supported Thích Nhất Hạnh’s moral leadership during the Vietnam War era, including King’s 1967 Nobel Peace Prize nomination for him. After King’s assassination, Thích Nhất Hạnh described making a personal vow to continue advancing King’s vision of beloved community as a real, lived practice—cultivated through local communities committed to compassion and social change.
For the Shinzo Abe Initiative, this story resonates as a leadership lesson for the AI Age: strategic strength must be paired with moral purpose, dialogue, and community-building. In a time of rising polarization and technological disruption, “beloved community” offers a practical framework for civic trust—an approach aligned with AIWS values of human-centered governance and societal resilience.
Please see full here: https://theconversation.com/building-beloved-community-remembering-the-friendship-between-martin-luther-king-jr-and-buddhist-monk-thich-nhat-hanh-272062
by Editor BGF | Jan 19, 2026 | World Leader for Peace and Security, News, World Leaders in AIWS Award Updates
HANOI — January 16, 2026 — Amandeep Singh Gill, United Nations Under-Secretary-General and Special Envoy for Digital and Emerging Technologies, and a 2022 World Leader in AIWS Award recipient, was formally recognized as “Humanity’s Quintessence Laureate 2026” at a special ceremony in Hanoi.
The distinction is presented by Tri Thuc Publishing House (NXB Tri Thức) under the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA) as part of the Humanity’s Quintessence / Tinh Hoa Nhân Loại program, developed with support from the Boston Global Forum (BGF) and the AI World Society (AIWS) Family. The honor celebrates living exemplars whose ideas and leadership advance the highest values of human civilization—truth-seeking, ethical responsibility, human dignity, and enlightened progress.
The recognition took place during a BGF–AIWS Roundtable focused on “Human Health in the AI Age: The AIWS Healthcare Model & AIWS Angel,” linking global leadership in responsible digital transformation with practical, human-centered AI initiatives. The event underscored Vietnam’s growing role in convening high-level dialogue on ethical AI governance and societal innovation in the AI Age.
by Editor BGF | Jan 19, 2026 | News
The AI World Society (AIWS) is a comprehensive civilizational framework for living well with intelligent machines. Its architecture is designed to ensure that artificial intelligence strengthens—rather than weakens—human dignity, democratic governance, trust, creativity, and peace. AIWS is not a single platform or product. It is an integrated system-of-systems that aligns technology, institutions, and culture around one guiding principle: AI must serve people, and people must remain responsible for the future AI helps create.
At the core of AIWS is the Mind–Heart–Wisdom design philosophy:
- Mind: data, evidence, intelligence, prediction, and operational excellence
- Heart: compassion, human rights, mental well-being, culture, faith, and social trust
- Wisdom: long-term responsibility, fairness, sustainability, and ethical restraint
Built on this foundation, the AIWS Architecture links major pillars into a unified whole:
- AIWS Government 24/7: continuous, transparent, human-in-command governance and citizen services
- AIWS Healthcare: holistic care for physical, mental, and emotional health, supported 24/7
- AIWS Education: lifelong learning as joy, supported by an AI companion for growth and character
- AIWS Culture (including AIWS Film Park and AIWS Music for Humanity): uplifting values, creativity, and meaning in the AI Age
- AIWS DASI (Digital Asset Standards Initiative): trust, provenance, and ethical standards for digital assets and data
- AIWS Agents: BAI (Boston Areti AI) for leadership support and AIWS Angel as a kind, protective companion for everyday life
Together, these components form a coherent architecture: AI for better decisions, better services, and better lives—while preserving what makes societies humane. AIWS offers a blueprint for nations, cities, institutions, and communities to modernize rapidly without losing their moral center, and to lead in the AI Age with principles that others can trust and follow.
