• At Paris summit, leaders commit to AI investment
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Under the sweeping glass roof of the Grand Palais in Paris, world leaders and tech entrepreneurs sketched out a vision for the future of AI that stressed potentials over pitfalls as the global race to dominate the tech hots up.

Following previous summits in London and Seoul, which focused on safety and existential risks, the Paris gathering concentrated on expansion and innovation, while showcasing France as a place where AI could flourish.

There was a push towards deregulation, substantial financial commitments for AI development and a declaration on ensuring that AI should be inclusive, open, ethical and safe, although not all participants signed that pledge.

French President Emmanuel Macron and EU digital chief Henna Virkkunen, among other attendees, sought to align Europe’s AI sector with more deregulated global markets.

Here are the four key takeaways from the event:

Cutting red tape

Macron and Virkkunen promised to cut back on regulation in Europe, where last year lawmakers approved the AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive set of rules governing the tech.

Tech companies have also criticised the EU’s Digital Services Act, which aims to improve content moderation and accountability for harmful content.

“We will simplify,” Macron said. “It’s very clear we have to resynchronise with the rest of the world.”

U.S. Vice President JD Vance told the summit that what he called Europe’s “massive” regulations on AI could strangle the technology, and rejected content moderation as “authoritarian censorship”.

“America wants to partner with all of you,” Vance said, adding the United States was concerned about European investigations into tech companies including Google, Meta and X.

Alexandra Reeve Givens, head of the Center for Democracy and Technology, a non-profit organisation that advocates for digital rights, said she was concerned by the lack of focus from Vance on basic safeguards and accountability.

“The vice president’s caricature of regulation felt out of touch with the needs of businesses and users who will use and rely on these tools,” she said in an emailed statement.

https://www.context.news/ai/ai-summit-four-key-takeaways-from-paris-meeting