Macron promotes France’s AI prowess at Paris Summit, trolls Trump

PARIS, FRANCE: During the Paris AI summit, Emmanuel Macron highlighted Europe, particularly France, as a leader in artificial intelligence, while also taking a jab at Donald Trump for his pro-fossil fuel stance.

The French president urged investors and tech companies to “choose Europe and France for AI,” emphasising France’s reliance on nuclear energy for its electricity needs, in contrast to Trump’s ‘drill, baby, drill’ mantra regarding oil and gas. “Here, there is no need to drill. It’s plug, baby, plug. Electricity is available,” he remarked.

Macron announced that a new European AI strategy would soon be revealed by Ursula von der Leyen, President of the European Commission, which he described as a “unique opportunity for Europe to accelerate” in AI development. He stressed the importance of creating a larger domestic market for start-ups across Europe.

However, concerns regarding a draft joint declaration have emerged, casting a shadow over the summit’s concluding day. Reports indicated that both the US and UK were dissatisfied with portions of the document, particularly language describing AI as “sustainable and inclusive”.” UK tech secretary Peter Kyle noted that the government was in active negotiations over the statement and refrained from commenting further on the discussions.

A government source mentioned that while they hoped to reach a consensus, the UK would reject the declaration if it didn’t align with its national interests, stating, “It needs to work for the UK.”

Seeking AI boom, France and EU promise to cut red tape on tech

The draft statement advocates for AI that is “human rights based, human-centric, ethical, safe, secure, and trustworthy,” but places less emphasis on safety than earlier declarations, including one from a 2023 summit in the UK, which highlighted the technology’s potential for “catastrophic” harm.

Prominent AI safety advocate Max Tegmark urged nations to avoid the statement unless amendments were made, warning against the minimal focus on risks associated with powerful AI systems.

The Ada Lovelace Institute echoed these concerns, suggesting the draft’s lack of emphasis on safety weakens commitments to make AI safe and trustworthy.

Throughout the summit, discussions addressed AI’s environmental impact and its potential to exacerbate societal inequality. Macron’s AI envoy, Anne Bouverot, underlined the energy and resource demands of AI development, asserting that while AI can help mitigate climate change, its current growth trajectory is unsustainable. Christy Hoffman, secretary-general of UNI Global Union, voiced fears that without worker involvement in AI implementation, the technology could worsen inequality and challenge democratic structures.

To promote the event, Macron shared a creative montage of deepfake images of himself on Instagram, featuring a humorous video of him dancing with various 1980s hairstyles, reflecting on the technology’s capabilities.