Europe seeks to shake up AI landscape

EX-EUROPEAN Central Bank (ECB) chief Mario Draghi’s competitiveness report, published last September, pointed to how far the European Union has fallen behind in the global technological race. Yet, this week the region will seek to highlight how it can become a key artificial intelligence (AI) power at a key summit in France.

Attendees at the big event, co-hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, include European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, US Vice-President JD Vance and Chinese Vice-Premier Ding Xuexiang.

Tech leaders will also be in full force, including OpenAI chief executive officer Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai. The involvement of industry is key as, unlike some previous era-defining technological advances – such as space or nuclear – AI is mostly being developed by private companies, disproportionately located in the United States.