World leaders, tech moguls, and policymakers gathered in Paris this week for the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, co-hosted by Emmanuel Macron and Narendra Modi. The conference aimed to discuss various A.I.-related issues, including regulation, safety, and the industry’s progress.
Europe is having second thoughts about its tough laws on data privacy and social media, with Mr. Macron advocating for a more relaxed approach. However, several American A.I. executives stated that Europe remains a challenging market for business compared to other big markets like India.
The Paris summit shifted focus from doomsday scenarios to the potential benefits of A.I., such as accelerating progress in areas like medicine and climate science. This shift was also reflected in predictions about the arrival of artificial general intelligence (A.G.I.), with some experts believing it could arrive within five years or sooner.
Despite the urgency surrounding A.I.’s rapid development, policymakers seem to be grappling with short timelines. They focus on fuzzy concepts like “multi-stakeholder engagement” and “innovation-enabling frameworks” rather than serious discussions about what would happen if A.G.I. systems were to arrive soon.
Industry leaders are also unclear about their intentions to build A.G.I., leaving policymakers struggling to keep pace with the technology’s rapid progress. The summit in Paris highlighted a discrepancy between time scales, where institutions move at one speed and technology moves at another.
Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/10/technology/ai-summit-paris-technology.html