# At the Paris summit, AI moves forward and the debate shifts from concern to massive investment

Author: Fernando Nieto Lobato
Original publication: 2025-02-12
Spanish original: https://estrategiabyaleph.substack.com/p/estrategia-72-mas-alla-del-miedo
English URL: https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/essays/072/
Status: Published translation

This is a translation of the original Spanish essay published on 12 February 2025. Its claims, examples and forecasts retain that historical context.

English publication: 2026-09-29

*Historical note: this article reflects the Paris summit of 10–11 February 2025. Quotations rendered from Spanish, including Kevin Roose’s opening metaphor and the declaration’s wording, have not been checked against their original English.*



I must begin with a metaphor from the *New York Times* correspondent at the summit, Kevin Roose, which struck me as both funny and apt. He describes it in an article as *“[watching politicians on horseback trying to fit seat belts to a passing Lamborghini](https://12ft.io/proxy)”*. Yet a more optimistic reading emerges from the discussions and commitments reached in the French capital on Monday and Tuesday, 10 and 11 February, albeit somewhat clouded by the United States and the United Kingdom’s refusal to sign the summit declaration. Far from signalling powerlessness, and despite strategic disagreements, the summit demonstrated a palpable shift: at the level of its political elites, the world is moving beyond mere concern and fear about AI into an era of momentum and concerted action, although with very different visions of the route to take.



[![The Paris AI Action Summit hall, with a speaker at the lectern, panellists, an audience and national flags.](https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/assets/images/ca5e786b-b80c-4a82-8569-41de514cea06_1600x832.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!u2Up!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2Fca5e786b-b80c-4a82-8569-41de514cea06_1600x832.png)



*The Paris summit’s main hall. The French wording on the screen, “Sommet pour l’action sur l’IA”, means “AI Action Summit”.*



By taking the initiative to convene this summit, France sought not only to put itself and Europe on the global AI map, but also to catalyse a constructive global dialogue. To a large extent, it succeeded. The presence of leaders from almost a hundred countries, alongside heavyweights from technology and academia, testifies to universal recognition of AI as a transformative force requiring a coordinated response.



Emmanuel Macron as host and Narendra Modi as co-host set an ambitious tone from the outset. Macron, in his bold and sometimes provocative style, did not hesitate to use deepfakes to illustrate AI’s power, highlighting both its creative potential and its risks. His announcement that he would radically simplify bureaucracy to accelerate AI infrastructure, taking the rapid reconstruction of Notre-Dame as a model, sent a clear message—at least from the French perspective: Europe wants to be a leading player, not a mere spectator.



[![Screenshot of Emmanuel Macron’s post captioned Bien joué, showing a still from the AI-altered video discussed in the article.](https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/assets/images/8cb05326-2bec-4755-8c5b-e57e6dd33539_811x846.png)](https://x.com/EmmanuelMacron/status/1888589398620389708)



*Screenshot of Emmanuel Macron’s post linking to the deepfake video discussed in the article. His French caption, “Bien joué…”, means “Well played…”. The image is a preserved video still, not a transcript of the recording; the original post remains linked.*



India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi, brought his country’s perspective as a rising technological power, insisting that AI should be a tool for reducing global inequalities rather than exacerbating them. This was also a key message in the subsequent address by UN Secretary-General António Guterres. The shared vision of inclusive AI serving the common good ran throughout the summit.



## Massive investment: Europe, though late, boards the AI train



One of the summit’s most tangible achievements was the torrent of investment announcements. The pledge of €109 billion in private investment in France, with significant contributions from the United Arab Emirates and Canada, is a statement of intent. The European Commission’s increased commitment to AI is also notable, reflected in the launch of [InvestAI, an initiative to mobilise €200 billion for AI investment](https://ec.europa.eu/commission/presscorner/detail/es/ip_25_467), including a new €20 billion European fund for AI “factories”. The creation of “AI Gigafactories” announced by Ursula von der Leyen is a concrete example of this new ambition. Building large-scale computing centres with the private sector, to democratise access to the infrastructure needed to train AI models, is a bold step towards reducing dependence on US or Chinese infrastructure.



Although these sums pale beside the United States’ massive investment plans—such as the $500 billion “Stargate plan”, or the more than $300 billion its four leading companies plan to invest in 2025, as we report in the original newsletter’s news section—or China’s financial muscle, they represent a turning point for Europe. For years, the EU has been criticised for slowness and excessive regulation supposedly holding back technological innovation. Paris 2025 appears to mark a change of course: Europe recognises the urgency of AI and the race to develop it, and is willing to deploy substantial resources to compete and lead.



## The significant setback of the US and UK not signing the final declaration



There is no denying that the United States and the United Kingdom’s failure to sign the Paris Declaration caused disappointment and exposed cracks in the apparent global consensus. The Trump administration, represented by Vice-President JD Vance, championed a deregulatory approach going well beyond the EU’s significant but limited promises to ease restrictions and cut red tape. It prioritised innovation and warned against the risk of “killing” the AI industry through excessive rules.



This contrasts with the more cautious European vision, which has so far clearly focused on ethical regulation and protecting fundamental rights. Even this divergence, however, can be interpreted as part of a broader and more complex process towards global AI governance. The summit did not seek to impose a single model, but to open a dialogue, set out different perspectives and find common ground.



More than 60 countries, including China and India, did sign the Paris Declaration, committing to principles of “open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe and trustworthy” AI. That is a significant achievement. It shows that, despite disagreements and the “race for AI supremacy”, a majority is willing to move towards a framework for international cooperation, even if the details and pace of implementation have yet to be defined.



## Beyond safety: opportunities and concrete action



Although AI safety, particularly in the face of existential risks, remains a legitimate concern, the Paris summit significantly shifted the emphasis of its predecessors in the United Kingdom and Korea towards “action” and the opportunities this technology offers for tackling global challenges. Discussions considered its potential to combat climate change, improve healthcare, transform education and increase economic productivity.



The launch of Current AI, a public–private partnership with $400 million in initial capital for public-interest and open-source projects, is one example of concrete action. So is the announced foundation to bring AI to developing countries, with a budget of €2.5 billion. These initiatives demonstrate a real commitment to inclusion and the democratisation of AI.



## A long road, but with momentum



The Paris summit is neither a magic solution nor an endpoint. It is more of an accelerated starting point and, for Europe, a final call that appears to have been put to good use. The road towards global AI governance will be long and winding, full of technical, ethical and political challenges. Yet the summit generated positive momentum, moving the debate from mere concern towards coordinated action. In this respect, I found the conversation between music producer Pharrell Williams and Google CEO Sundar Pichai particularly interesting, because it also brought reflections from an artistic perspective, removed from the world of politicians and technology executives. Williams argued that we should stop using the word “fear” in relation to artificial intelligence, highlighting humans’ great capacity to adapt to and live alongside technological innovations that have made the world a better place.



[![Three participants seated with microphones during the summit conversation discussed in the article.](https://elcontemplador.github.io/estrategia-english/assets/images/09b6b319-de9c-48a1-b145-3ac83bef98c6_1600x849.png)](https://substackcdn.com/image/fetch/$s_!yigz!,f_auto,q_auto:good,fl_progressive:steep/https%3A%2F%2Fsubstack-post-media.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fpublic%2Fimages%2F09b6b319-de9c-48a1-b145-3ac83bef98c6_1600x849.png)



*A moment from the discussion described above, with three participants seated on stage. There is no substantive text embedded in the photograph.*



Europe, although behind in the AI race, finally seems determined to press the accelerator—if only every country showed France’s determination—and play a leading role, combining innovation with responsible regulation. The transatlantic discord is real, but it should not eclipse the emerging consensus among a majority of nations on the need for ethical, inclusive AI that serves humanity and is developed quickly and globally.



The metaphor of the Lamborghini and the riders still holds, but perhaps with a more optimistic twist. At last, legislators are not only trying to fit seat belts: they are also learning to drive this high-speed vehicle called AI, steering it towards a more prosperous and equitable future for everyone. Paris 2025 was an important step in that direction.



Fernando Nieto Lobato



*Director of Digital Innovation at Institución Educativa ALEPH*