The AI Action Summit has brought together leaders and industry from 80 countries across the globe to roadmap the state of play for artificial intelligence, identifying key opportunities and risks for the technology.
Following on from the previous AI Safety Summits in Bletchley Park and Seoul, world leaders, tech executives, and academics are vying for AI superiority at a two-day global summit in Paris.
Notable delegates include India Prime Minister Narendra Modi, American Vice President JD Vance, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and Google CEO Sundar Pichai.
Central to the discussion is the recently published International Safety Report, exploring the risks and guidelines of evolving AI systems, with the event expected to be a stress test for AI governance.
The Summit comes against the backdrop of significant UK investment into AI for the public sector, new presidential executive orders in the US and the emergence of DeepSeek.
What are business leaders hoping for?
Ramprakash Ramamoorthy, Director of AI Research, Zoho Corporation, said: “The opportunities of AI have been discussed at length, but privacy concerns, unregulated AI use, regulatory complexity and language divides continue to prove a barrier to AI for businesses. The AI Action Summit is a forum for world leaders to tackle these challenges head-on and hopefully provide clarity to businesses that are looking to push ahead with AI investment and adoption.”
“The recent Independent AI Safety Report is a welcome roadmap for the future of AI regulation, informing these discussions and placing trust and safety at the heart of developments. Governing AI on a global scale is no easy task, requiring collaboration between governments, regulators, industry experts and educators to establish ethical frameworks for the use of AI systems. This includes establishing international safety standards, promoting transparency in global AI developments, and using AI to serve humanity’s pressing challenges.”
Stuart Harvey, CEO of Datactics, said: “AI is at risk of spiralling out of control if it’s left unchecked without robust, governed data policies in place. Data is the foundation of every successful AI model, from training data to meeting regulations to producing a quality output, so it’s vital that world leaders understand the critical role of data as part of these discussions. Rushing ahead with AI without data readiness in place can lead to costly setbacks, leaving the door open to potential bias, regulatory breaches, and significantly undermining public confidence."
Oliver Hester, Head of Public Sector Services at FDM Group, said: “AI is becoming an increasingly integral part of public sector work, from improving public services to strengthening security, with the UK government prioritising significant investment and resources into levelling up the civil services, NHS and departments. The roadmap being set out at the AI Action Summit will provide crucial guidance on the barriers and opportunities facing AI systems, dictating the delivery of AI systems across the public sector.
“For AI systems to be implemented and utilised effectively, it’s essential for organisations to have people with the right skills to manage both the benefits and risks. Investing in training and experiential learning to provide industry-standard skills can ensure that AI is used responsibly while meeting the talent demand and preparing the next generation of digital nomads.”
