The BGA Platform Technology Senior Director Apoorva Kolluru wrote an update to clients on the Paris AI Summit.

Context

  • France earlier promised the summit would “focus on concrete action and deliverables,” but the investment announcements, the refusal of the United Kingdom and the United States to sign the final nonbinding declaration and minimal discussions about AI safety and regulations made the event feel more like an investment fair as opposed to one on global governance of AI. Regardless, there were three main takeaways from the summit. 
  • As co-host of the summit with India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi, French President Emmanuel Macron urged Europe to embrace innovation by cutting red tape to foster more startups and investors in the region. He called for “simplifying” European regulations around AI innovation, like those around the Paris Notre-Dame Cathedral reconstruction efforts.  

Significance

  • The Paris AI summit demonstrated a sharp shift in narratives from the previous summits held in the United Kingdom and Korea. Leaders chose to highlight the potential of AI while relegating risk and safety discussions to side panels. The emphasis on deregulation was centerstage in all the leaders’ speeches, with Europe particularly exhibiting a fear of missing out on the AI bandwagon.
  • The European Union pledged to mobilize 200 billion euros ($209 billion) for AI investment in Europe, including a 20 billion euros ($20.9 billion) InvestAI fund to develop AI gigafactories and a 150 billion euros ($156.7 billion) commitment over the next five years from 20 investors including U.S. investment giants such as Blackstone, KKR and EQT.

Implications

  • There was a sharp U-turn in global narratives on AI safety and security from previous summits. Both European leaders and U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance shifted away from AI safety and called for deregulation to enable innovation in AI, with the Europeans promising to cut red tape in their AI Act. 
  • Europe increasingly exhibited a fear of missing out on the AI-wagon as it announced close to 300 billion euros (US$313.4 billion) of investment for AI, likening this investment to the U.S. Stargate project. Much of the discussion centered on the AI opportunity and lagging European competitiveness in this domain with an undertone of regret about Europe’s AI regulatory choices. 

We will continue to keep you updated on technology developments as they occur. If you have any comments or questions, please contact BGA Platform Technology Senior Director Apoorva Kolluru at akolluru@bowergroupasia.com.

Best regards,

BGA Technology Team

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Senior Director

Apoorva leads BGA teams to support clients in the platform technology sector, ensuring companies receive exceptional and consistent support around the globe.  Apoorva is an experienced strategist with a track record of helping multinational companies and think tanks achieve success in the Indo-Pacific. Through her roles at BGA, Apoorva has led analysis and engagement in both market-specific and sector-specific roles, addressing the needs of companies on both a local and a global scale. She has supported clients in sectors including technology, financial services, health care and consumer products.  Prior to joining BGA, Apoorva worked as a communications officer at the ... Read More