PARIS AI SUMMIT (2025)

PRELIMS BITS: 

• Co-chaired by PM Narendra Modi and French President Macron.
• Over 90 countries participated, continuing the AI summit series from the UK (2023) and South Korea (2024).

Previous AI Summits

• UK Summit (2023): 28 countries signed the Bletchley Park Declaration, focusing on regulating frontier AI to prevent misuse.
• Seoul Summit (2024): 16 AI companies pledged transparency and responsible AI development.

Main Goals of the Paris Summit

• Make AI safe, independent, and accessible to all.
• Promote environmentally friendly AI.
• Establish a global AI governance system.

Key Themes Discussed

• AI in public services, societal impacts, trust-building, and governance.
• AI’s role in innovation and culture.

Tech Sovereignty

• French President Macron highlighted the importance of tech sovereignty, focusing on economic, political, and social well-being.
• This reduces dependence on foreign technology, strengthens national security, and fosters economic growth.
• India emphasizes tech sovereignty through initiatives like Digital India, AI, and the Digital Personal Data Protection Act (2023).

India-France AI Collaboration

• Second India-France AI Policy Roundtable focused on data protection, sovereignty, and cross-border data flows.
• Cooperation aims at developing indigenous AI models, cross-border AI research, and data-sharing initiatives.

Future Prospects

• The summit set the stage for continued India-France cooperation in AI, focusing on the Global South and AI serving the common good.