“Check against delivery”
Thank you, Mr. President, dear Emmanuel,
Presidents,
Your Serene Highness,
Prime Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen,
This is the third AI Safety Summit in just over a year. During this time, three generations of increasingly powerful AI models have been released, with some predicting models approaching human reasoning within a year. While past summits laid groundwork for AI safety, this summit focuses on action. We need to formulate a vision for AIs future role in society and act to accelerate Europes progress. Today, I discuss Europes specific place in the global AI race.
Europe aims to be a leading AI continent, embracing AIs potential to boost competitiveness, enhance security, improve public health, and democratize access to knowledge. Entrepreneurs, researchers, investors, and business leaders here in Paris are showcasing this vision of Europe as an AI leader.
Some claim Europe is behind in the AI race compared to the US and China, but I disagree. The race is still in its early stages, and Europe can lead by focusing on industry-specific AI applications and leveraging its strengths in science and technology. This summit highlights Europes distinct AI brand, which is cooperative and open-source driven, fostering innovation and adoption. The AI startup scene in Europe is thriving, with unicorns increasing tenfold recently.
Our approach to AI involves accelerating innovation through public supercomputers and AI factories, with a EUR 10 billion investment already underway. Our goal is to provide computing power for all, encouraging competition based on innovation. AI Gigafactories will offer large-scale infrastructure for model training, similar to CERNs success story. This initiative encourages global talent collaboration and data federation.
Substantial financial capital is needed for computational power, with the European AI Champions Initiative pledging EUR 150 billion from various sectors. Through InvestAI, we add EUR 50 billion, aiming for a total EUR 200 billion investment in AI. This represents the largest public-private partnership for AI development globally.
Cooperative AI can extend beyond Europe to the Global South. We support the AI Foundation and its projects with our computing power, ensuring AI benefits are widespread and accessible. We want AI to be a force for good, promoting collaboration and benefiting all. This is our European path.
Thank you very much.