All eyes were in the French president Emmanuel Macron at the end of the first day of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit In Paris after he walked Investment package of € 109 billion (Around $ 112 billion to current exchange rates) in the French ecosystem on Sunday night.
He reiterated this financial commitment of private partners willing to build data centers in France (mainly) and invest in new companies (sometimes). According to him, the main reason why international investors are choosing France for their next massive data center project is reduced to the country’s excess nuclear energy supply.
“I have a good friend on the other side of the ocean that says ‘drill, baby, drill’. Here, there is no need to pierce, it is only ‘plug, baby, plug’, “said President Macron.
But he doesn’t want to make AI’s action summit over France. “For me, this summit is not just the announcement of much investment in France. It is a attention call for a European strategy, ”he said.
“Tomorrow, President Van der Leyen will announce the European strategy of AI and it will be a very important occasion. But this strategy will be a unique opportunity for Europe to accelerate, simplify our regulations, deepen the single market and to also invest in computer capabilities, ”he added.
As the European Union wants Rationalization RegulationMacron also seems to support this line of thought. “It is very clear that we have to synchronize with the rest of the world in terms of transmission, in terms of permission, in terms of authorization, clinical trials, I mean, in all the different sectors.”
Macron also urged European companies to buy in new European companies. According to him, most companies in the United States and China favor local solutions. But that rarely is the case in Europe, especially when it comes to technology.
On Tuesday, world leaders and technology CEO will present a new statement. Many will analyze both the content and the list of countries that sign the promise at the end of the summit to see if it is still possible to agree on a list of priorities when it comes to the AI regulation.
Read our full coverage of the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit in Paris.