The 2025 Paris AI Action Summit, the third edition of the AI Action summit from 10th to 11th February 2025, convened by French President Emmanuel Macron, brings together world leaders, tech giants, researchers, and civil society representatives in a bid to chart a responsible course for the development and deployment of artificial intelligence. Building on the foundation established during the 2023 U.K. summit, this year’s event aims to expand the conversation from concerns about AI being used for mass destruction to addressing its potential impacts on the labour market and the environment.
While the summit aims to foster international collaboration and establish a framework for ethical use of AI it also generates considerable optimism about the potential of AI to address global challenges, The summit would highlight the complex ethical, social, and geopolitical dilemmas that accompany the technology.
Who’s Attending
The summit, chaired by French President Emmanuel Macron and co-chaired by Indian Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, saw significant international participation. The U.S. was represented by Vice President J.D. Vance, while German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen also attended. Key figures from the AI industry, such as OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Anthropic’s Dario Amodei, and Mistral’s Arthur Mensch, were present, alongside Google’s CEO Sundar Pichai, all of whom play pivotal roles in the generative AI sector. The presence of Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing was particularly noteworthy, as China had not engaged in previous summits. Additionally, China’s DeepSeek AI model, reportedly developed at a fraction of the cost of other models, added another layer of significance to the event.
How is the 2025 Summit Different
The Action Summit, in contrast to previous editions, aims to shift the focus from the risks and threats posed by artificial intelligence to its lighter side, exploring its inherent applications and opportunities. This shift is evident in the statement made by James Manyika, Google’s Senior Vice President for Research, who emphasised the summit has given much greater focus on the opportunities of AI, while still accounting for risks, and regulation.
In the same context the summit participants seek to achieve three major objectives:
- Provide access to independent, safe and reliable AI to a wide range of users
- Develop AI that is more environmentally friendly
- Ensure global governance of artificial intelligence that is both effective and inclusive
When asked whether AI will ever match human intelligence, Demis Hassabis, the CEO of Google’s DeepMind and recent “Nobel Prize winner” responded with cautious optimism, suggesting that we might be just five years away from achieving such a system. He further emphasized the importance of society preparing for this potential development. In discussing DeepSeek, Hassabis acknowledged the impressive engineering skills of the Chinese team but also pointed out that DeepSeek did not introduce any groundbreaking techniques. Most of the methods employed, he noted, are similar to those developed at Google.
A similar perspective is shared by Mistral, a company praised by President Macron. Mistral’s CEO, Arthur Mensch, expressed that he was not surprised by DeepSeek’s innovation, highlighting that the Chinese team had benefited from technology shared by Mistral through open-source channels in 2023.
How Countries would benefit.
India stands to gain significantly from the summit as it emphasizes AI innovation over restrictions, aligning with the approaches of leaders like Macron. This forum provides India with an opportunity to strengthen its position in the global AI landscape. By showcasing its talent pool, research capabilities, and government initiatives, India can attract foreign investment and foster international partnerships to accelerate growth in its AI sector.
Additionally, the summit serves as a platform for knowledge sharing and collaboration. Indian researchers and companies can exchange ideas, adopt global best practices, and engage with leading AI experts. It also allows India to play an active role in shaping international AI regulations and ethical frameworks. With the United States and France adopting similar AI strategies, India finds itself aligned with like-minded nations, contrasting with the more restrictive approach of China and the European Union.
While the summit also made marked a shifting trend in European union evidenced by Commission Vice President Henna Virkkunen emphasising the following
“When it comes to AI, I’m committed that I’m going to implement (regulation) in a very innovation-friendly manner to make sure that we are encouraging investments and innovations.”
China also used the Summit as platform to showcase it’s DeepSeek’s R1 large language model highlighting its achievement at a significantly lower budget, despite heavy U.S. sanctions on its computing power. Whether China can leverage this technology to surpass the U.S. remains to be seen. As other summit participants noted, while DeepSeek’s achievement is significant, the techniques used are not groundbreaking.
Investment in AI a Key Factor
The 2025 summit highlighted a surge of investment in artificial intelligence, with French President Emmanuel Macron announcing on Monday investment commitments totalling €109 billion ($112 billion). This announcement was followed by several major companies making significant pledges. Amazon, for instance, committed €6 billion to develop cloud infrastructure in France, while Apollo Global Management allocated $5 billion for AI-driven energy investments. Additionally, data centre firm Equinix announced plans to invest €630 million as part of a broader €750 million pledge, which will fund the construction of 10 data centres around Paris and one in Bordeaux.
Fluid Stack the AI cloud platform company signed a memorandum of understanding with the French government to develop one of the world’s largest AI supercomputers, which will be powered by French nuclear energy. The first phase of the project will involve a €10 billion investment, with operations slated to begin by 2026. In parallel, Mistral AI, a French startup supported by Nvidia and recognized for its recently launched Le Chat assistant, touted as Europe’s answer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, plans to build the largest supercomputer in Europe.
It was also worth noting that a similar initiative may well be underway in India, as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has expressed interest in hosting the next AI Summit. France has confirmed that India will host the upcoming summit, and India, in turn, has assured France of its full support for AI-related initiatives. His address at the summit highlighted the transformative role of AI in reshaping global politics, economies, and societies. He emphasised the need for responsible governance that balances innovation with inclusivity, ensuring AI serves humanity’s collective good. PM Modi also stressed the importance of empowering the Global South and ensuring equitable access to AI’s benefits for all nations. Lastly a quote made by PM Modi stands out
“We are at the dawn of the AI age that will shape the course of humanity. Some people worry about machines becoming superior in intelligence to humans. But no one holds the key to our collective future and shared destiny other than us humans.
That sense of responsibility must guide us.”
Conclusion
The 2025 Paris AI Action Summit marked a significant step in shaping the future of artificial intelligence, shifting the focus from risks to opportunities while addressing key ethical, social, and geopolitical concerns. With participation from global leaders, industry pioneers, and researchers, the summit underscored the need for international collaboration to ensure safe, accessible, and environmentally sustainable AI. Notably, major investments announced during the event highlight AI’s growing economic influence, positioning France, India, and other key players at the forefront of innovation. As India prepares to host the next summit, the momentum gained in Paris is set to drive further global cooperation and advancements in AI governance and development.
However, the summit also highlighted differing global perspectives on AI governance. Notably, the United States and the United Kingdom declined to sign the joint declaration, expressing concerns that excessive regulation could stifle innovation and emphasising the need to protect national interests. In contrast, China endorsed the declaration, signalling its commitment to cooperative AI development. These divergent positions underscore the complex ethical, social, and geopolitical dilemmas accompanying AI technology.
As India prepares to host the next summit, the diverse positions of key global players will play a crucial role in shaping the future of AI governance and international collaboration. Historically, nations have sought to restrict access to transformative technologies under the pretext of ensuring global safety, often as a means to prevent rivals from gaining a competitive edge. However, artificial intelligence has evolved far beyond national borders, with open-source models challenging traditional power dynamics. The question of which country will ultimately emerge as the leader in AI remains uncertain and will only be answered with time. One thing is clear, India is strategically positioning itself as a global hub for innovation. Recent foreign investments in the country’s semiconductor sector signal growing confidence in its technological potential. If this trend continues, the future AI summits in India could attract even greater investment, much like France has experienced. However, as AI continues to advance at an unprecedented pace, no single nation can monopolize its development. The global race for AI dominance remains open-ended, and only time will tell which country will maintain its competitive edge.
