French AI executives on Tuesday crowded the large hallway at Paris' biggest tech hub, Station F, in the hope of catching a word with French President Emmanuel Macron as he walked through the crowd.
It was an important moment for French tech, which had been showcased as among the best in Europe during a two-day AI summit, a high-states diplomatic event attended by world leaders who laid out their different views on AI.
There was a slew of announcements, including the launch of the mobile application France's version of US chatbot Chat GPT – Mistral AI's Le Chat. But, as one participant pointed out to Mr Macron as he shook hands with company CEOs, “you also need to bring the entire country on board”.
Entrepreneurs expressed worry over whether France and Europe's AI sector will be attractive enough to compete with China and the US. Diplomatic tension hovered over the summit, with US Vice President JD Vance chiding the EU for over-regulating the new technology and trying to rein in US tech companies such as X that operate in Europe.
Unlike China, Brazil and the UAE, which were among the 60 signatories of a final statement titled “inclusive and sustainable artificial intelligence for people and the planet,” the UK and the US abstained.
Ultimately, countries with the biggest AI companies will decide how it will be regulated, frustrated entrepreneurs told The National. “The reality is that we hear a lot of words but it's really complicated to understand what are the facilities available to help start-ups or companies,” said Rudy Lellouche, co-founder of start-up Aive, an AI-assisted video production company.
Mr Lellouche was among dozens of French companies with a stand at Station F aimed at promoting their work and meeting European and French officials. Aive's clients include car company Stellantis in France and tech giant Meta in the US. However, Aive, which employs 25 people, is struggling to grow further in France and 20 per cent of its clients are now in the US. “Europe is lagging behind compared to US and other markets,” Mr Lellouche said. “Contracts are signed much faster in the US, which, as a result, pockets the benefits of AI technology.”
Such comments come in start contrast to the optimism displayed by politicians. “French acceleration, European awakening – here we are!” said Mr Macron in a speech at Station F. “Too often, I hear that Europe is late to the race – while the US and China have already gotten ahead,” European Commission Ursula von der Leyen said earlier in the day, addressing world leaders at the summit. “I disagree. Because the AI race is far from over. Truth is, we are only at the beginning. The frontier is constantly moving. And global leadership is still up for grabs.”
Speaking to entrepreneurs at Station F, Mr Macron tried to tread a fine line between calling for European regulation while also saying that companies needed freedom to innovate. “I want our children to be able to choose. If we let the Americans and the Chinese be the sole champions, we'll be sure of one thing: we might have the best rules in the world, but we won't have anything to regulate,” Mr Macron said.
It's the kind of message that the AI sector said they would listen to closely. “Let's create first, then regulate,” said Jules Caron, chief of staff at Scality, a French software company that offers services to secure data used by companies and the defence sector, including data used in AI development.
Announcements made at the AI summit go in the “right direction”, Mr Caron said. It remains to be seen what direction Europe's AI will take.
