Trump’s AI Ambitions and China’s DeepSeek Dominate Paris AI Summit

 Paris (The Uttam Hindu): The Paris AI Action Summit , set to begin on February 10 will focus on the geopolitics surrounding artificial intelligence (AI), drawing global leaders, executives  and experts to discuss the future of this rapidly advancing technology. This summit comes at a crucial juncture, as China's newly emerged, budget-friendly DeepSeek chatbot is making waves in the AI industry, challenging Western players like ChatGPT. US Vice President JD Vance, marking his first overseas trip since taking office, will attend the summit, while Chinese President Xi Jinping is sending his special envoy. Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who attended the inaugural 2023 summit in Bletchley Park, and DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng have been invited, though it remains uncertain if they will attend. The event will be held at the Grand Palais and will include panel discussions, workshops and a dinner at the Elysee presidential palace for leaders and CEOs, with speeches scheduled for the closing session on February 13.

AI governance and safety remain key topics, building upon previous global dialogues like the UK and South Korea summits. This time, however, the conversation will extend to a broader range of AI-related issues. The goal is to establish ethical, democratic and environmentally sustainable AI guidelines, with a joint political declaration that countries are expected to sign. However, whether the US will join such a commitment remains unclear. One of the major goals of the summit is to raise 2.5 billion euros ($2.6 billion) for a public-private partnership aimed at providing open-source access to databases, software, and tools for trustworthy AI development, under the leadership of French President Emmanuel Macron. France seeks to shift focus away from the competitive race to develop better-than-human AI models and encourage access to data for solving significant global challenges like cancer and long COVID.

The summit also highlights the differing approaches of global leaders. Former US President Donald Trump has expressed his desire to position the US as the world leader in AI by leveraging its energy resources, even as he moves to withdraw the US from global AI governance. His administration has developed a new AI policy that seeks to reduce regulatory barriers and avoid ideological biases in AI systems. This stance may complicate efforts to reach a global consensus on AI safety and ethics. Meanwhile, China’s role is growing stronger under President Xi Jinping's leadership, with the country sending Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing to the summit. This marks a significant step up from China's previous involvement, demonstrating its desire to play a more prominent role in global AI governance. The rise of DeepSeek, a chatbot that rivals Western technologies, has further intensified the geopolitical tensions between the US and China, with accusations that DeepSeek may have used OpenAI’s data in its development. However, DeepSeek’s low-cost, open-source model has also sparked interest from countries like France, seeking to catch up with the US and China in the AI race.

As tensions mount between the US, China, and the EU, the summit also faces potential disagreements regarding AI regulations. The European Union's strict antitrust measures against US tech giants and its AI regulations have led to resistance from companies like Meta. There are concerns that the EU’s regulatory environment could hinder Europe’s role in the global AI landscape. The summit, co-hosted by French President Macron and Indian Prime Minister Modi, will bring together heads of state, tech CEOs, and researchers from 80 countries, including European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, and leading tech figures like OpenAI’s Sam Altman, Microsoft’s Brad Smith, and Google’s Sundar Pichai. The event aims to chart a course for AI that benefits society while minimizing the risks posed by this powerful technology.