Xavier Niel, the prominent French billionaire and chairman of the Iliad Group, has declared plans to host an AI conference in Paris this November, aligning with Britain’s AI Safety Summit.
This upcoming conference is reportedly backed by the American chip manufacturer NVIDIA, coinciding with Niel’s commitment to invest €200 million in the field of AI. The UK summit is scheduled for November 1-2 at Bletchley Park, while the French event will take place on November 17 at Station F.
Organized by Scaleway, a subsidiary of Iliad, the Paris conference aims to highlight the latest advancements in AI, explore the implications of contemporary AI models for businesses, and forecast emerging trends. The event is positioning itself as the inaugural European AI conference.
The UK’s AI Safety Summit will gather tech leaders, government officials, and industry experts to discuss groundbreaking innovations and future developments in AI. Michelle Donelan, the UK Secretary of State for Science, Innovation, and Technology, emphasized, “The UK is consistently recognized as a world leader in AI and is well positioned to spearhead these discussions.”
Claire Trachet, CEO of the business advisory firm Trachet, noted the significance of France’s initiative, indicating a crucial moment for the UK in acknowledging the competitive landscape in Europe as it strives to keep pace with the United States in the AI sector.
The organizers of the French conference have expressed intentions to make this an annual event.