AI Summit in Paris: Macron and Europe step up the pace in response to the US and China

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the focal point of intense global competition, currently dominated by the United States and China. The two powers are investing heavily in cutting-edge technologies, pushing Europe to respond. For the EU, the goal is to remain relevant in a race that is impacting all areas of society, including industry, healthcare, finance and education. Faced with this imperative, Europe is seeking to construct an ecosystem capable of competing with technology giants such as OpenAI, Microsoft, and DeepSeek without compromising its regulatory and ethical principles.

On 11^th February 2025, more than 3,800 participants and speakers, from 100 countries, gathered in Paris for Business Day at the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, aiming to stimulate Europe’s role in AI development. Among those in attendance were French President Emmanuel Macron, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and US Vice-President J.D. Vance, who joined experts and industry leaders such as Sam Altman (OpenAI), Yann LeCun (Chief AI Scientist at Meta), and Sundar Pichai (CEO of Alphabet, Google’s parent company) to discuss Europe’s ambitions, with a particular focus on France’s potential for innovation.

The summit provided an opportunity to assess progress, announce strategic investments and explore future challenges. For instance, how can artificial intelligence help meet the climate and health challenges of our time? And how can we combine technological innovation, sustainability, ethics and transparency?

A more sustainable AI in the service of climate resilience

The effects of climate change are intensifying; the Los Angeles megafires that raged at the beginning of the year are the latest symptoms. AI advocates are keen to present the technology as a key tool for strengthening the resilience of infrastructures, optimising energy efficiency and better anticipating climate risks. Yet how can we reconcile the need for every greater computing power with achieving energy efficiency? Edouard de Saint Pierre, Senior Manager France at Lombard Odier, and a participant in the AI Summit, explained: “Like any technology, AI must be regulated to prevent it from becoming a pressure factor on global energy resources. The potential of AI is immense, but it must be part of a sustainable and human vision of innovation.”

This remark was echoed by Emmanuel Macron speaking during Business Day. “This Summit is a European wake-up call on AI, driven by our values. We want an AI that will [...] contribute to solving the energy equation,” he said. AI in Europe must “champion a model of society that we believe in: plural, open, generous, free, fair,” he concluded.

This key question on AI’s ability to tackle sustainability challenges was addressed during a panel entitled AI-Driven Solutions for Climate Resilience and Sustainable Infrastructure. Kevin Dedieu, co-founder of Descartes Underwriting, a company specialising in climate risk insurance solutions, noted, “AI now makes it possible to model natural disasters and optimise the way infrastructure is built to reflect climate risks. The technology is there. What is missing are standardised criteria for measuring these risks.”

AI presents a technological advance accompanied by a paradox: while AI has the potential to help us tackle climate change, it is, itself, very resource-intensive. According to a study by Deloitte, the energy consumption of data centres dedicated to AI alone is expected to exceed 2% of global electricity consumption¹. This constitutes a colossal energy footprint that Arnaud Muller, co-founder of Cleyrop, a French company specialising in data management solutions, combats by promoting a more sober and sovereign approach. “We work exclusively with European cloud providers for reasons to do with trust, regulation and the circular economy,” he said. He also advocates for better sharing of energy resources between cloud players.

From sobriety to energy frugality

“Frugal AI” could be one solution to the problem of AI’s vast energy demand. This emerging approach aims to maximise the impact of AI, but using minimal resources. Sofia Schneider, Vice President AI South at Oracle, a speaker at the summit’s Frugal AI panel entitled Maximising impact with minimal resources, highlighted the importance of sustainable cloud infrastructure, noting that Oracle's European data centres “run on 100% renewable energy”², achieved through collaboration with environmentally-friendly suppliers and investments in advanced energy management and cooling technologies³. She added, “99.9% of the material produced is designed to be recycled,” explaining that this approach should be adopted more widely within the industry.

Thanks to AI, AXA is able to predict and better manage natural disasters… flood modelling algorithms help optimise relief efforts in the event of a disaster

According to Christophe Vermont, Chief Transformation & Technology Officer at AXA FRANCE, AI also has a key role to play in managing and adapting to climate crises as they arise. “As an insurer, we are on the front line when it comes to environmental changes. Our role is to make sure that the world remains insurable in the face of these new challenges,” he said. This comment came in the context of the Los Angeles megafires, where total economic losses could reach as much as USD 150 billion, while insured losses alone amounted to USD 20 billion⁴.

Thanks to AI, AXA is able to predict and better manage natural disasters by analysing satellite images to anticipate forest fires, while flood modelling algorithms help optimise relief efforts in the event of a disaster. “During the recent floods in Valencia, we were able to measure the rising waters in real time and target our aid where it was most critical,” Vermont explained.

Read also: How can AI speed up the decarbonisation of businesses?

Despite these significant benefits, Vermont believes there is one challenge still to be met, namely, transparency. “Today, it is still very difficult to obtain precise data on the environmental impact of AI infrastructures. We need to demand increased clarity and role model standards,” he said, explaining that regulation should not be seen as a hindrance, but as a lever for innovation, transforming constraints into opportunities. Speaking on the same theme, Cleyrop’s Arnaud Muller said, “It is crucial to structure a European space for AI, and we need to standardise our measurements, units and algorithms to guarantee full transparency.”

AI in finance and health: balancing the promise with the challenges

Eleonore Crespo, co-founder of AI-augmented business planning platform Pigment, and a participant in a summit panel entitled AI Transformation in Financial Services, highlighted a radical change in access to data and decision-making in the financial sector, which is paving the way for what she called ‘collective intelligence’. “Today, thanks to AI, any associate can understand and exploit data, which accelerates and improves strategic decisions.” Given these changes, employee training is crucial, Crespo emphasised, noting, “It is an absolute necessity to train every team to experiment with AI, in all areas. This is not a trend that we can resist; we must embrace it and innovate.”

Within ten years, it is hoped that AI will help design fully personalised therapy programmes, adapted to each pathology, thanks to a detailed analysis of biological data

Artificial intelligence is also transforming yet another sector at an unprecedented speed: healthcare. This was the focal point of a panel entitled Accelerating healthcare innovation with AI. AI is speeding up the availability of new treatments for patients, and leading the charge to precision medicine. Within ten years, it is hoped that AI will help design fully personalised therapy programmes, adapted to each pathology, thanks to a detailed analysis of biological data. Peder Blomgren, Vice President & Head of Data Office at AstraZeneca, explained, “Ideally, if a disease is diagnosed, a series of tests would be sufficient to design a treatment that is perfectly adapted to each patient.”

Read also: The AI-health revolution – future-proofing our golden years

But, while digital innovations are progressing rapidly, medical infrastructure still needs to catch up. “It's like building a high-speed train without widening the tunnel,” Blomgren noted, with the major challenge being the convergence between digital technologies and real-world capabilities. Today, automated laboratories, new methods for antibody production, and advanced biotechnologies are opening up new perspectives and unprecedented opportunities for game-changing treatments.

Can Europe create AI champions?

At a panel entitled Building European champions in AI, moderator Maya Noël, General Director of France Digitale, asked a key question: can Europe catch up with the United States and China, and build its own leaders?

our expertise.

rethink sustainability.

learn more

sustainable investing.

learn more

Isabelle Ryl, co-founder of the Paris Artificial Intelligence Research Institute, explained that the European ecosystem is still fragile. “We were leaders in Europe in terms of AI publications, but China has overtaken us by investing massively,” she warned, calling for Europe to “train more experts and strengthen the link between research and business.” Anne Bouverot, Special Envoy of the President of the French Republic for AI, also shared her analysis. “We need to continue investing in research and higher education. If we don't, we will be left behind,” she concluded.

Working in the American market is a necessary step for European start-ups that want to become AI world leaders. This raises a question of technological sovereignty

Florian Douetteau, CEO of AI-platform provider Dataiku, outlined his belief that working in the American market is a necessary step for European start-ups that want to become AI world leaders. This, he said, then raises a question of technological sovereignty. “Today, 80% of AI infrastructure in Europe comes from seven large companies, mainly American. What will happen if they decide to increase their prices by 20%?” he asked. Faced with this risk, Europe must urgently develop its own alternatives to guarantee resilience and technological sovereignty.

Towards a European AI ecosystem?

Despite these challenges, the panellists were optimistic. Isabelle Ryl stated that “there is a true collective desire to create a strong European ecosystem,” noting that the EU AI Champions Initiative, combined with the public and private investments announced at the Summit, could accelerate the rise of AI in Europe.

“Today, Europe has Mistral AI, Dataiku, Hugging Face, Aleph Alpha, and many others. There is real momentum,” Special Envoy Anne Bouverot concluded.

To compete with the American and Chinese giants, Europe will not only have to invest more, but also foster a framework conducive to the growth of its technology champions. While the US has announced a USD 500 billion investment in the Stargate project⁵, Europe seems prepared for battle, as evidenced by the announcement of an EUR 200 billion investment in the continent’s AI industry in the years to come⁶. This is a historic step forward that could put Europe back in the AI race more quickly than expected.