Paris is hosting a high-profile artificial intelligence (AI) summit, bringing together world leaders and top tech executives. Set in the historic Grand Palais, the two-day AI Action Summit aims to showcase France’s AI ambitions and explore the future of the technology.
Among the attendees are OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman, Google’s Sundar Pichai, and Anthropic’s Dario Amodei. Also present are prominent AI pioneers such as Fei-Fei Li, Yann LeCun, and Arthur Mensch of Mistral AI. World leaders including US Vice President JD Vance, EU technological sovereignty chief Henna Virkkunen, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi will also participate. Speculation remains over whether DeepSeek’s CEO Liang Wenfeng or a senior Chinese official, Ding Xuexiang, will attend.
Unlike the UK’s AI Safety Summit, which focused on AI risks, the French summit highlights AI’s opportunities. Key themes include AI for public interest, global governance, innovation, and sustainability. Open-source AI technology will be a major topic, following DeepSeek’s release of an energy-efficient and cost-effective model.
As AI competition heats up, the European approach to regulation will be a key discussion point. MIT economist Daron Acemoglu believes Europe can lead by example through responsible AI development. The EU’s AI Act, which bans harmful AI practices and enforces transparency, will also be debated.
With three million European businesses using AI, experts warn that digital skills remain a challenge. The summit will explore how Europe can harness AI while ensuring safety, privacy, and fair competition in this rapidly evolving landscape.
