Paris AI Summit: Policy and regulatory implications

The Paris AI Summit, held on 10-11 February 2025, marked a turning point in Europe's artificial intelligence (AI) strategy. Bringing together heads of state, business leaders, and AI experts, the event sought to position Europe as a major player in the global AI landscape.

The summit served as a platform to announce major new investments in France, aiming to position the country as a leader in AI governance in Europe. It also introduced Europe's AI strategy, emphasising innovation, regulation, and competitiveness.

The AI Action Week ended on 11 February 2025 at Station F, the world’s biggest startup campus based in Paris, with a focus on businesses. The event brought together SMEs, mid-sized companies, large enterprises, investors, and financial institutions to discuss and showcase AI solutions benefiting citizens. Participants also presented their latest innovations and discussed global financing for the AI sector.

Key policy topics 

The AI Summit discussed the key challenges and opportunities related to AI through an approach centred on innovation, sustainability, education, and governance.  

A key discussion point was developing AI systems that are reliable, transparent, and accessible to all, ensuring equitable societal benefits. The importance of intellectual property rights was highlighted, especially for copyright-protected content, and fair creator remuneration. The Summit also reviewed the protection of cultural and creative industries.

Another key focus was on sustainable and responsible AI development. This involved reducing AI's environmental impact by promoting decarbonised energy, researching AI's ecological effects, and evaluating AI models with this in mind. The Summit aimed to set new standards, boost green investments, and adopt decarbonised energy throughout the AI value chain.  

The advancement of AI is contingent upon cultivating a skilled workforce capable of fostering and propelling innovation. To achieve this goal, investment in education and training programs is considered crucial for equipping individuals with the necessary expertise to develop, deploy, and regulate AI technologies effectively. Enhancing AI-related education was emphasised as a strategy to ensure that the workforce remains adaptable and adequately prepared for the rapid advancements within the sector.

Finally, international AI governance played a crucial role in the discussions. Rather than relying on a single governance initiative, the challenge lays in coordinating existing efforts to establish a cohesive framework for global cooperation. The objective is to develop international standards and policies that would ensure the safe and ethical use of AI while fostering innovation. By facilitating collaboration between nations and regulatory bodies, the Summit aimed to build a governance model that is both inclusive and operational. 

President Macron’s key announcements

The French President announced €109 billion in private investments from both foreign and domestic companies, boosting sectors like data centres, AI partnerships, and semiconductor manufacturing.

Emmanuel Macron also revealed plans for new data centres and increased investment in semiconductor production, with 35 sites identified for future data centres. He highlighted France's stable, low-carbon energy mix, driven by nuclear power, which offers a reliable and sustainable energy source for AI operations, making it an attractive destination for AI technologies.

Europe's AI strategy

The summit also unveiled EU's broader AI strategy. 

Commission President Ursula von der Leyen has launched InvestAI, an initiative to invest €200 billion in AI, including a €20 billion European fund for four AI gigafactories. These gigafactories will train advanced, large-scale AI models. 

The Commission's initial funding for InvestAI will come from existing EU funding programmes which have a digital component, such as Digital Europe Programme and Horizon Europe, and InvestEU.

The Commission will also establish a European AI Research Council to pool resources and explore data potential for supporting AI and other technologies.

Declaration on sustainable and inclusive AI for people and the planet

At the conclusion of the AI Action Summit, 61 countries including all EU member states, Japan, Australia, Canada, China and India adopted a declaration on sustainable and inclusive artificial intelligence for people and the planet.

This declaration outlines key commitments, including the launch of a major platform and incubator for AI in the public interest by the founding members. It also marks the first multistakeholder discussion on AI and energy, aimed at fostering international dialogue on AI’s environmental impact, establishing an observatory on AI’s effects on energy within the International Energy Agency, and promoting energy-efficient AI innovations. Additionally, the signatories acknowledged the need to enhance collective knowledge on AI’s impact on the labor market and emphasised the importance of inclusive multistakeholder dialogues and international cooperation on AI governance.

Data protection authorities joint statement on data governance

Data protection authorities of five countries - Australia, Korea, Ireland, France, and the UK -issued a joint statement emphasising the importance of establishing trustworthy data governance frameworks to foster the development of innovative and privacy-protective AI.

They emphasised the growing complexity of AI data processing, noting its use in various sectors, involvement of global stakeholders, large-scale data needs, and rapid tech advancements.

To address these challenges, the authorities committed to:

• Foster a common understanding of lawful grounds for processing AI training data in their jurisdictions and develop clear standards and requirements.
• Exchange information and establish proportionate safety measures based on scientific assessments tailored to diverse use cases.
• Continuously monitor technical and societal implications of AI, leveraging expertise from data protection authorities and other entities.
• Reduce legal uncertainties and create space for innovation necessary for AI development and deployment.
• Strengthen interactions with relevant authorities, such as those overseeing. competition, consumer protection, and intellectual property, to ensure consistency and foster synergies among regulatory frameworks for AI systems and applications.