Facebook's Sheryl Sandberg, JPMorgan Chase's Jamie Dimon and Alibaba's Jack Ma will share the spotlight with a 

prize-winning South Korean robot called HUBO at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum this week in the Swiss ski resort. It's a presence they'll have to get used to.

The adult-sized automaton, which can climb stairs and enter and exit a car, will be a star attraction at the conference. It illustrates a looming challenge for the 2,500 elite delegates: How to protect their companies and jobs by harnessing advances in artificial intelligence and robotics, without exacerbating the economic frustration and populist discord spreading around the globe.