The AI Summit in Paris is taking place on 10 and 11 February 2025. Co-hosted by President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, is a significant event bringing together world leaders, tech giants, and legal experts to discuss the future of artificial intelligence. Notable attendees include U.S. Vice President JD Vance, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. Industry leaders such as Sam Altman (OpenAI), Sundar Pichai (Google), Brad Smith (Microsoft), and Dario Amodei (Anthropic) are also due to attend.

The summit aims to address AI's transformative role in various sectors and establish international governance frameworks. Key discussions will focus AI and democracy, the environmental impact of the technology, information manipulation, and cybersecurity.[1] One of the anticipated hot topics will also be opensource AI technology and the emergence of DeepSeek with its use of a cheaper and more energy efficient foundational model and resultant data privacy concerns.

However, there have been concerns about a leaked draft of the summit's declaration which has sparked controversy.[2] Professor Stuart Russell, president of the International Association for Safe and Ethical AI, criticised the draft for its lack of progress on safety commitments and the omission of crucial safety measures addressing AI-related risks in cybersecurity, biotechnology, and disinformation.

The summit comes at a time when the UK is making strides towards protecting AI systems from cyber threats, as demonstrated by the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology’s Code of Practice for the Cyber Security of AI (discussed in Emma Thompson's article here).  The summit's success will depend on its ability to address these safety concerns and reaffirm commitments to mitigating AI risks. 

[1]IA_SUMMIT_PROGRAMME_ENG_07022025

[2]AI summit draft declaration criticised for lack of safety progress