The geopolitics of artificial intelligence will be in focus at a major summit in France where world leaders, executives and experts will hammer out pledges on guiding the development of the rapidly advancing technology.
Advertisement
It is the latest in a series of global dialogues around AI governance, but one that comes at a fresh inflection point as China’s buzzy and budget-friendly DeepSeek chatbot shakes up the industry.
US Vice-President J.D. Vance – making his first trip abroad since taking office – will attend the Paris AI Action Summit starting on Monday, while China’s President Xi Jinping will be sending his special envoy, signalling high stakes for the meeting.
Heads of state and top government officials, tech bosses and researchers are gathering in Paris for the two-day summit hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The event aims to address how to harness artificial intelligence’s potential so that it benefits everyone, while containing the technology’s myriad risks.
European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen is attending, along with company officials from 80 countries, including German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Microsoft President Brad Smith and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Advertisement
Tesla chief Elon Musk, who attended the inaugural 2023 summit at former code breaking base Bletchley Park in England, and DeepSeek founder and CEO Liang Wenfeng have been invited, but it is unclear whether either will attend.