French AI summit signals shift from cooperation to competition

The AI Action Summit in Paris last week brought together politicians, academics and industry experts to discuss how they might influence the future of artificial intelligence. 

The French government pushed President Macron’s strategy to position France as a global leader in artificial intelligence, announcing investment pledges of €109 billion in the sector over the next few years. Most notably Canadian firm Brookfield has pledged €20 billion and the UAE has pledged up to €50 billion. Companies like Amazon, Apollo Global Management, Digital Realty, Equinix and Mistral AI also pledged investments in France's AI infrastructure.

The French government argues that the country is perfectly positioned to become an AI powerhouse through its mix of tech talent, decarbonised electricity supply, robust ecosystem and more. France  has moved from 13th place in the Global AI Index in 2023 to 5th place in 2024 and is the third country in the world in terms of the number of AI researchers.

According to the Financial Times, the summit also highlighted a transition from international cooperation to geopolitical competition in AI development. The US Vice President JD Vance “signalled that the US was ripping out the brakes and putting its foot to the floor to develop AI,” the FT said. In an opinion piece the publication said: “The US, and the UK, did not sign up to a closing statement that said AI should be ‘inclusive, transparent, ethical and safe’. A new AI arms race has begun, with the US and China vying for dominance and Europe trying to carve out its role.” If the US didn’t sign the closing declaration on inclusive AI because its government feels that “excessive regulation of the AI sector could kill a transformative industry”, the UK didn’t sign because its government feels the declaration didn’t go far enough. A UK government spokesperson said: “...we felt the declaration didn’t provide enough practical clarity on global governance, nor sufficiently address harder questions around national security and the challenge AI poses to it.” 

Safety and ethical considerations also came under scrutiny at the summit, with former Google CEO Eric Schmidt voicing concern over AI misuse. He warned about the potential for rogue states to use AI to “do real harm" and emphasised the importance of government oversight on private tech companies developing AI, while cautioning against excessive regulation that might hinder innovation. Speaking on BBC R4, Schmidt said: “It’s really important that governments understand what we’re doing and keep their eye on us. My experience with the tech leaders is that they do have an understanding of the impact they’re having, but they might make a different values judgment than the government would make.”

President Macron - who promoted the summit with a video showing deep fakes of himself - also underlined France's dedication to simplifying regulatory processes and investing in AI to compete with the US and China. He called for increased European cooperation and a unified strategy for AI development, asking Europeans to support local companies and leverage France's low-carbon energy resources for data centres.

What might any of this mean for product people? Most concerning is the lack of agreement on the safety of AI and the move from international cooperation to competition - it means the race will intensify and AI companies in the US will likely be able to push forward with fewer restrictions. But the summit also underlines the need to stay abreast of region-specific AI regulations as they emerge and ensure your products are compliant from the get-go. 

While the debate around safety vs innovation continues to play out, we can certainly expect more investment and opportunities in AI products. And we can expect France to become an increasingly attractive place for businesses to develop AI products sustainably and for French businesses like Mistral AI to play a bigger role in global AI innovation.