Leaders Urge Global Cooperation to Tackle Conflict, AI, Energy Poverty and Long-Term Growth

TIME invited six global figures to explain how collaboration can address some of the most urgent challenges of our era—from armed conflict and human-rights crises to AI governance, universal electrification and sustained economic progress.

Michelle Bachelet: Human Rights as the Foundation of Peace

We live in an era of rapid change, growing uncertainty and declining public trust. Ongoing conflicts in Ukraine, Gaza and Sudan demonstrate how violence can spill across borders and affect nations far from the original flashpoints. In an interconnected world, threats to one state become risks for many; no country can confront these challenges alone.

Bachelet argues that preventing and resolving conflict requires listening to affected communities, protecting human rights and addressing the inequalities that fuel grievances. Human rights are not an impediment to peace but its foundation: without justice, societies cannot heal, rebuild trust or sustain stability. Durable peace depends on early risk detection, coordinated diplomacy and joint humanitarian action to defuse crises before they escalate. Stronger, more effective multilateralism—where states cooperate, share information and pool resources—creates the conditions for long-term recovery and development.

Michelle Bachelet is the former President of Chile and former United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights.

Michael Dell: Build AI Together—Transparency, Standards, Interoperability

AI promises breakthroughs across science, industry and supply chains, and autonomous agents are expanding that potential. But realizing the benefits requires treating AI as a collective capability to be developed collaboratively.

Dell Technologies acts as "customer zero" for enterprise AI—experimenting with infrastructure, implementation, data management and measuring returns—and openly shares lessons through regular videos and direct engagement. That transparency speeds adoption and reduces duplicated mistakes. Dell calls for public–private collaboration on regional AI action plans and cross-industry standards for AI agents. If systems cannot interoperate across vendors and platforms, fragmented ecosystems will slow progress for everyone. Shared foundations and open learning accelerate innovation and strengthen safety.

Michael Dell is Chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies.

Bob Sternfels: A Century of Progress—and a Plan for the Next 100 Years

Reflecting on a century of dramatic improvement—life expectancy roughly doubled and billions escaped extreme poverty—Sternfels asks whether we can deliver another century of progress. McKinsey Global Institute’s book A Century of Plenty explores a scenario in which global prosperity approaches that of today’s richest nations by 2100, which would require roughly an eightfold increase in global GDP.

Achieving that vision is plausible given technological advances, knowledge diffusion and global connectivity, but it will require cooperation, compromise and deliberate policy choices that balance growth with planetary protections. Sternfels emphasizes that progress is a choice and that optimism, grounded in practical strategies, can help guide collective action toward equitable, sustainable outcomes.

Bob Sternfels is Global Managing Partner of McKinsey & Company.

Rajiv J. Shah: Prioritize Universal Electrification

With development budgets under pressure, Shah urges focusing on high-impact, scalable solutions—starting with electricity access. Today about 730 million people lack enough electricity to power a light bulb, limiting access to education, healthcare, jobs and economic opportunity. Electrification is more feasible now thanks to falling costs for renewable energy and innovations in distributed power.

Shah points to results-driven public–private–philanthropic partnerships—such as the Global Energy Alliance and Mission 300—that are expanding access while creating jobs and improving security. A Rockefeller Foundation poll found 75% of respondents would back cooperative initiatives if they delivered measurable results. In a constrained funding environment, outcome-focused cooperation is both effective and politically sustainable.

Rajiv J. Shah is President of the Rockefeller Foundation.

David Lungati: Africa’s People-Centered Approach to AI

Many frame AI as a race for data, talent, compute and regulatory advantages. Africa is still early in that race: only 16 of 54 countries have national AI strategies and few have binding AI laws, while the continent contributes under 1% of global AI research despite representing about 18% of the world’s population.

Yet several African countries—Kenya, Rwanda, Nigeria, Ghana and South Africa among them—are developing strategies that emphasize digital sovereignty, equity, ethical innovation and grounding AI in local values and needs. Rather than prioritizing dominance, these approaches prioritize development, inclusion and accountable governance. Lungati argues that this people-centered model offers a valuable template the global community could adopt to build a more inclusive, cooperative and responsible AI future.

David Lungati is Executive Director of the tech nonprofit Ushahidi.

Eric Hou: Human–AI Partnership as a Model

In chess, AI moved from adversary to indispensable partner. Hou argues the most powerful force today is the human–AI partnership: machines reveal deep patterns and analytical lines, while human intuition, psychology and strategic judgment decide which paths to pursue. This collaboration produces results neither could achieve alone.

Hou extends the lesson beyond chess—whether addressing climate change, pandemics or inequality, we need hybrid solutions that combine AI’s computational power with human empathy, creativity and contextual judgment. A future built on partnership, not rivalry, can unleash better solutions to complex global challenges.

Eric Hansen Hou is a Chess Grandmaster.

Contact: letters@time.com