The recent AI Action Summit in Paris over 10th and 11th of February 2025 didn’t deliver what those who advocated for guardrails and better regulations around AI power had hoped for. Instead, the Summit – which brought together political leaders, the drivers of the tech and AI sector, researchers and civil society – pushed the narrative that AI innovation and development trumps the need to create regulations and governance structures to ensure its safe and ethical deployment.

Politico’s article about the shift from AI regulation to innovation summarises the situation:

World leaders aren’t worried that artificial intelligence will make humanity extinct or be misused by terrorists. They seemed much more concerned about not winning the global AI race when they met at the AI Action Summit in Paris this week.

DRFLab’s analysis piece by Mark Scott explains the EU’s AI pivot:

Until recently, the European Union was viewed as the gold standard for AI rulemaking, including the 27 country’s bloc’s newly created Artificial Intelligence Act. The comprehensive rulebook comes into full force by late 2026 and bans specific “high-risk” uses for artificial intelligence. It also requires companies to conduct lengthy risk assessments and audits before releasing advanced AI models to the public.

Yet during France’s AI Action Summit, EU leaders made it clear that competition — and not safety — was now their major focus. Emmanuel Macron, the French president, told an audience in Paris that Europe would “simplify” its regulatory approach, adding: “it’s very clear we have to resynchronize with the rest of the world.”

It’s too early to say if there will be effective pushback to the aggressive AI drive in Europe and the rest of the world. Many organisations and individuals working in digital rights have been badly impacted by the freeze on US Government funding, and are in survival mode. Others are no doubt figuring out how tap into industry funding support. One thing though is certain: geo/political power is now linked with AI advancement and embracement. And it will be hard to push back the massive flow of public money that will flood into the hands of the AI corporations, big and small.