France is making a bold bid to establish itself as a global leader in artificial intelligence governance, as Paris prepares to host the 2025 AI Action Summit. Against the backdrop of growing regulatory measures across Europe, France aims to strike a balance between innovation and ethics.
Events in anticipation of the 2025 AI Action Summit kick off in Paris this week – ahead of what is being billed as a landmark meeting of world leaders and tech giants on Monday and Tuesday, aimed at positioning France as a central hub for AI partnerships.
The gathering is designed to catalyse a "European awakening" in artificial intelligence, following a recent declaration from the United States that it will channel some $500 billion worth of investment into artificial intelligence.
Co-chaired by India, the Paris summit aims to ensure that AI development aligns with ethical values, accessibility and sustainability, while also fostering global cooperation in governance.
It marks a pivotal moment for France, as the country looks to put itself at the forefront of global AI governance and raise some €2.5 billion for AI development over the next five years.
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Following on from UK and South Korean AI Summits – in 2023 and 2024 respectively – the Paris showcase aims to take the conversation further, by expanding the focus beyond safety to innovation, inclusivity and practical implementation.
The goal is to foster "trustworthy AI" through the development of artificial intelligence as a force for good.
Rémi Rostan, editor-in-chief of LHC magazine, told RFI that if AI is to be truly useful, it must be accessible to everyone.
"AI must not be a toy for experts or a black box that decides for us... As long as a part of the population sees AI as something vague or threatening, it will remain a subject of mistrust, rather than a lever for emancipation," he said.
The summit will bring together leaders from nearly 100 countries, as well as major figures from the tech industry, including Elon Musk, Sam Altman of OpenAI, Sundar Pichai of Google, and Demis Hassabis of DeepMind.
EU regulations kick-in
France's push for AI leadership comes as the European Union has positioned itself as the vanguard of AI regulation.
The first provisions of the European AI Act came into effect on the even of the summit, marking a significant milestone in global AI governance.
Initial measures include banning unacceptable uses such as social scoring, predictive policing based on profiling, and emotion recognition in workplaces and schools.
By August, transparency obligations for AI models like ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini will come into force across the EU, requiring greater disclosure about training data and technical specifications.
The broader framework of the regulations will be implemented in phases, with full enforcement expected by 2027.
However, these regulations face a major pushback from tech companies, and ongoing debates about intellectual property and data transparency put a question mark over the use of the large language models the new generation of AI is built with.
One key objective of this week's gathering is to explore European perspectives on the sovereignty of AI and its autonomy, with a view to countering the hegemony of US developers with very deep pockets, and Chinese innovators who are slashing the cost of hosting data centres, a key element of AI development.
At present, only seven countries in the world are "stakeholders" in AI initiatives, meaning that some 119 states have no direct involvement in the AI revolution.
Clashing with creativity
Over the next six days, AI workshops and seminars have been structured to balance policy discussions with public engagement and technical exploration.
Running from 6 to11 February, AI Week features a series of events, beginning with a scientific conference at the Polytechnique engineering school, where Nobel laureates and leading AI researchers will discuss the latest developments.
Cultural discussions on AI’s impact on arts and media will take place at the Bibliothèque nationale de France and the Conciergerie, showcasing AI’s potential beyond just business and governance.
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As the impact of AI becomes apparent, the question arises as to what happens to humans in the world of work and arts.
For Rostan, the answer is clear: "It's another brush in the box, not the hand that paints... It's the human being who provides the breath, the intention, the subversion.
"Innovation and tradition are not opposites. They must dance together, with AI serving as a catalyst for new forms of expression, without ever replacing the human voice."
Only a few days ago, the US Copyright Office issued a ruling that AI-assisted work can be protected, provided that it contains a sufficient amount of human creativity.
"Clearly, the tool does not make the artist," Rostan says. "It is the intention and human intervention that count."
The main summit on 11 February will gather global policymakers, business leaders, and experts at the Grand Palais, where discussions will focus on investment, infrastructure, and the strategic direction of AI.
