Insider's Perspective on Involvement
In the heart of Paris, the AI Action Summit is set to take place on 10-11 February, bringing together nearly a hundred countries and over a thousand stakeholders from the private sector and civil society. The focus of this summit is primarily on aligning AI development and governance with humanist values to ensure collective benefit and public interest, managing the AI transition inclusively while protecting individual freedoms, and accelerating global AI adoption responsibly.
The summit structures its approach around specialized tracks that touch upon trustworthy AI, public interest applications, global governance, and innovation. These tracks implicitly cover issues such as AI safety, power imbalances, and collective action through an inclusive governance framework.
One of the significant initiatives launched at the Summit is the Current AI foundation and the Sustainable AI Coalition. These initiatives aim to address upstream AI risks by encouraging large-scale, public-interest-focused AI projects and aligning AI development with global sustainability goals. These initiatives exemplify collective action and cross-sector collaboration to drive responsible AI innovation benefiting society and the environment.
While explicit mentions of "agentic AI" or detailed discussions of power imbalances are not prominent in the publicly available summaries, the overarching themes of ensuring inclusivity, safeguarding freedoms, and prioritizing public interest indicate a focus on mitigating risks related to power concentration and unsafe AI deployment through global cooperation and governance.
The AI Action Summit in Paris emphasizes responsible global AI development and adoption with attention to safety and inclusivity. It aims to commit participants to developing AI that serves the public interest. The summit also seeks to build consensus and drive collective solutions for sustainable AI use and wider accessibility of AI technologies.
However, it's important to note that the USA is against regulating AI technologies, while the UK aims to 'unleash AI's potential'. This contrast in perspectives could shape the global discourse on AI governance.
The EU AI Act Codes of Practice is currently the only meaningful attempt to place requirements on model developers. As the AI ecosystem continues to evolve, with increasing market concentration among tech companies, there are open questions about the forms of investment that minimize value capture by large companies and maximize value to the public.
The reported establishment of the Coalition for Sustainable AI at the Paris summit is one positive vision for the future. However, it remains unclear who benefits from new technologies if the status quo is maintained. The summit may provide early clues about how policymakers perceive the role of AI agents.
Similar themes can be found in the Bletchley Declaration and discussions in Seoul, but the Paris summit does not explicitly address AI safety. Nonetheless, the focus on humanist values, inclusivity, and public interest sets a promising tone for the future of AI governance.
[1] AI Action Summit Official Website [2] Current AI Foundation [3] Sustainable AI Coalition [4] Paris Call for Trust and Security in AI
- Artificial Intelligence (AI) is a key focus at the AI Action Summit in Paris, where discussions revolve around aligning its development with humanist values, ensuring its safe and inclusive adoption, and driving collective solutions for its sustainable use.
- The Current AI Foundation and Sustainable AI Coalition, launched at the summit, aim to address upstream AI risks by encouraging large-scale, public-interest-focused AI projects and aligning AI development with global sustainability goals, using a collaborative approach that benefits society and the environment.
