France arranges itself to evolve Europe's A.I. corner

June 21, 2023: France is making a significant motivation to position itself as Europe’s hub for artificial intelligence, tossing its weight behind the increasing-growing and much-hyped technology.

“I think we are number one in continental Europe, and we have to accelerate,” French President Emmanuel Macron said last week.

Countries are looking to position themselves as A.I. hubs because the technology is seen as revolutionary and of strategic importance to governments worldwide. A.I. is viewed as moving industries from finance to healthcare but has also been caught in the middle of the broader technology battle between China and the U.S.

The hype about A.I. has been partially sparked by the viral nature of U.S. firm OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot.

A.I. was the word on everyone’s lips at France’s annual technology conference Viva Tech, from startups to established technology firms and companies from industries as diverse as cosmetics and banking.

Macron, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire, and Digital Minister Jean-Noel Barrot accompanied the event, adding the government’s backing to France’s tech push.

“We will invest like crazy in training and research,” Macron stated, adding that France is well-positioned in A.I. due to its access to talent and startups forming around the technology.

While the U.S. is seen as the leader in A.I. by many measures, France hopes to catch up.

“Believe me, and this is clear that the U.S. is number one, for good reason because it is a huge domestic market. I want us to bridge the gap and invest, develop, and accelerate much more,” Macron said.

Paris’ ambitions face a tough match even within the European Union.

“France has a chance to be the leader in Europe, but it faces stiff competition from Germany and the U.K.,” Anton Dahbura, Co-Director of the Johns Hopkins Institute for Assured Autonomy, told via email.

The previous week, U.K. Prime Minister Rishi Sunak pitched for Britain to become a global A.I. center.

Dahbura stated that, for France to grow, it will need to “use A.I. to build on the economic areas it’s already strong in,” such as manufacturing and pharmaceutical.

“It’s a key time to be strategic to determine specific areas of distinct competency and invest heavily in A.I. to build an edge,” Dahbura said.