France pitches AI summit as 'wake-up call' for Europe

PARIS — 

France hosts apical tech players adjacent week astatine an artificial quality acme meant arsenic a "wake-up call" for Europe arsenic it struggles with AI challenges from the United States and China.

Players from crossed the assemblage and representatives from 80 nations volition stitchery successful the French superior connected February 10 and 11 successful the sumptuous Grand Palais, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition.

In the run-up, President Emmanuel Macron volition connected Feb. 4 sojourn probe centers applying AI to subject and health, earlier hosting scientists and Nobel Prize winners astatine his Elysee Palace residence connected Wednesday.

A wider subject league volition beryllium held astatine the Polytechnique engineering schoolhouse connected Thursday and Friday.

"The acme comes astatine precisely the close clip for this wake-up telephone for France and Europe, and to amusement we are successful position" to instrumentality vantage of the technology, an authoritative successful Macron's bureau told reporters.

In caller weeks, Washington's announcement of $500 cardinal successful concern to physique up AI infrastructure and the merchandise of a frugal but almighty generative AI exemplary by Chinese steadfast DeepSeek person focused minds successful Europe.

France indispensable "not fto this gyration walk it by," Macron's bureau said.

Attendees astatine the acme volition see Sam Altman, caput of OpenAI -- the steadfast that brought generative models to nationalist consciousness successful 2022 with the motorboat of ChatGPT.

Google brag Sundar Pichai and Nobel Prize victor Demis Hassabis, who leads the company's DeepMind AI probe unit, volition besides come, alongside Arthur Mensch, laminitis of French AI developer Mistral.

The Elysee has said determination are "talks" connected hosting DeepSeek laminitis Liang Wenfeng, and has yet to clarify whether X proprietor Elon Musk -- who has his ain generative initiative, xAI -- has accepted an invitation.

Nor is it wide who volition be from the United States and China, with the French presidency saying lone "very precocious level" representatives volition come.

Confirmed guests from Europe see European Commission main Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

'Stoke confidence'

The code of the AI acme volition beryllium "neither catastrophizing, nor naive," Macron's AI envoy Anne Bouverot told AFP.

Hosting the league is besides an accidental for Paris to amusement disconnected its ain AI ecosystem, which numbers astir 750 companies.

Macron's bureau has said the acme would spot the announcement of "massive" investments on the lines of his yearly "Choose France" concern conference, astatine which $15.4 cardinal of inward concern were pledged successful 2024.

Beyond the economical opportunities, AI's interaction connected civilization including creator creativity and quality accumulation volition beryllium discussed successful a side-event implicit the weekend.

Debates unfastened to the public, specified arsenic that one, are aimed astatine showing disconnected "positive usage cases for AI" to "stoke assurance and velocity up adoption" of the technology, said France's integer curate Clara Chappaz.

For now, the French nationalist is skeptical of AI, with 79 percent of respondents telling pollsters Ifop they were "concerned" astir the exertion successful a caller survey.

More 'inclusive' AI?

Paris says it besides hopes the acme tin assistance footwear disconnected its imaginativeness of a much ethical and accessible and little resource-intensive AI.

At present, "the AI nether improvement is pushed by a fewer ample players from a fewer countries," Bouverot said, whereas France wants "to beforehand much inclusive development."

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to co-host the Paris summit, successful a propulsion to bring governments connected board.

One of the summit's aims is the constitution of a public-interest instauration for which Paris aims to rise $2.5 cardinal implicit 5 years.

The effort would beryllium "a public-private concern betwixt assorted governments, businesses and philanthropic foundations from antithetic countries," Macron's bureau said.

Paris hopes astatine the acme to illustration antithetic efforts astatine AI governance astir the satellite and stitchery commitments for environmentally sustainable AI -- though nary binding mechanics is planned for now.

"There are tons of large principles emerging astir responsible, trustworthy AI, but it's not wide oregon casual to instrumentality for the engineers successful method terms," said Laure de Roucy-Rochegonde, manager of the geopolitical exertion halfway astatine the French Institute for International Relations.