Artificial Intelligence, the Paris Summit and FOMO
The Artificial Intelligence Action Summit held earlier this month in Paris revealed the truth about AI. It’s not the science fiction-based idea of artificially intelligent robots taking over the world or even the displacement of workers by machines. It is more fundamental than that. With so many billions of dollars invested in the new technology and the apparently unlimited potential of AI, it is fear of missing out.
The announcement earlier this year of the Chinese DeepSeek AI program has left other countries and companies panicked they have fallen behind the curve in the pursuit of bigger and better AI engines. And the decision by the United States and the United Kingdom not to sign the communique issued at the end of the two-day meeting signals that any real cooperation in safeguarding the public from artificial intelligence abuses is less of a priority than ramping up the competition to be king of the AI hill.
The address by Vice President JD Vance made clear the American perspective on AI – that the United States can and should be the dominant player in artificial intelligence research and implementation. And while European nations pledged to cut the red tape constricting development of AI, what it all really means is the beginning of an artificial intelligence arms race.
With all the hype surrounding AI and the money spent by public and private entities to create better and faster applications, the Paris summit is likely to be remembered as the time when the gauntlet was thrown and the real race for AI began.
The U.S. has already shelved AI policy development by the previous administration to provide guardrails for the development and future use of the technology in favor of an all-out effort to assert American dominance in the field. While national pride is one thing, unbridled exploration for whatever purpose is bound to leave some collateral damage.
The development of artificial intelligence should be a shared goal, pursued cooperatively for the betterment of all. While that may sound naïve, the unknown, unanticipated and unintended consequences of rushing headlong into new technologies may be part of the march of science, but it could also be a recipe for disaster.
Our collective perspective on AI has been shaped by our imagination of a future where artificial intelligence fuels discovery and ushers in a brave new world of efficiency. But it is also informed by the imagination of storytellers musing about the impact of technology on the human experience.
Either way, AI is reshaping how we live, how we work and how we do business. But before we take that leap of faith it would be well to consider in our digital society, we are still working through issues of safety, security and civility. Perhaps setting boundaries and fostering collaboration should be our real motivated self-interest.
