The Paris summit could help raise our AI game

This global gathering aims to have AI serve the common good. Should India and France join hands, it would benefit us both and help stop the US-China rivalry from stealing the race

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Keeping up the momentum of the 2023 Bletchley Park and 2024 Seoul AI Safety talks, global leaders have gathered at this year's AI Action Summit in Paris to forge a consensus on the regulation and deployment of artificial intelligence (AI) for the common good. The agenda of this huddle focuses on public-service AI, the future of work, innovation and culture, trust in AI and global governance. India, co-chairing talks with France, aims to bolster its position in the global AI ecosystem and collaborate with EU nations on issues such as climate change and energy use. However, we face a major hurdle in recent US curbs on the export of advanced chips to India, which clouds our ambition to compete with today's AI leaders: the US, China and the UK. Can a handshake with France work to India's advantage? Both countries have been developing national AI strategies since 2018. France has invested about ₹2.5 billion in setting up an AI ecosystem and is home to over 1,000 AI startups, including 16 unicorns (like Mistral AI).