Paris AI Summit Day One
Paris AI Summit Day One Cycling back from the Grand Palais, Paris’s streets were gridlocked thanks to road closures caused by the AI Summit. The disruption, attendees joked, was mimicking what’s to come with AI.But as Faculty’s Marc Warner told the Tony Blair Institute, ‘deals will be done here’ because the summit has, with a much wider remit than the Bletchley original, become the centre of AI hype and a genuine gathering point for the whole industry.What it hasn’t done, however, is covered the cracks in divergent international positions.Here are five questions people are asking themselves: Can Europe establish itself as the AI superpower it ought to be? Success stories such as Mistral are the exception, and will the major new investments announced here turn out to really be new money? Summit sources are briefing that who signs the final communique doesn’t matter, because of important announcements on monitoring the impact of AI via new observatories, and on commitments to open source. Is that just what they have to say with the US and the UK unlikely to sign it? Which is the biggest elephant in the room – the likelihood of AGI in 3-5 years, the impact of AI on energy use, or the challenges some maintain could come from AI destroying humanity? All of these are getting relatively little attention compared to expectations. With policymakers inevitably reacting rather than leading the AI revolution, what is the best course to try to take? Attracting investment and focusing on skills feels like the only option, but neither is likely to be sufficient for countries currently lagging. What’s the best way to encourage adoption? Literacy, identifying game-changing data sets and also working out how to reshape tasks so AI is most useful – all of these have interesting roles to play, but nobody has neat answers here in Paris. Tomorrow, JD Vance and other political leaders will make the weather – hopefully an improvement on the metaphorical and literal cold rain here so far.
Leading the Future: Roundtable 20th of January
Leading the Future: Parliamentary Roundtable – Monday 20th of January The “Leading the Future: Developing the UK’s AI-Ready Workforce” roundtable, hosted by UKAI and Bradley Thomas MP at the House of Commons, brought together key stakeholders to discuss strategies for equipping the UK workforce with the right AI skills. The event focused on closing the digital divide, integrating AI literacy into education, fostering industry-led training and supporting workforce transitions. Participants from business, academia and the third sector explored how AI can be embedded into early education, lifelong learning and workplace training to ensure both technical and non-technical workers are prepared for an AI-driven future. Additionally, discussions addressed the importance of balancing skills development with ethical AI use, fair work practices and ensuring regional and gender inclusivity in AI talent development. Key themes from the roundtable included the importance of industry involvement in training, the need for flexible qualification frameworks and the challenge of attracting global AI talent while ensuring opportunities for UK workers. Participants debated the role of AI in reshaping jobs, strategies for reskilling displaced workers and policies to support equitable access to AI training across different regions and demographics. There was also strong interest in improving public understanding of AI and ensuring the UK remains globally competitive through workforce development strategies. This event served as a critical step in shaping practical policies and partnerships to build a future-ready, AI-literate workforce. The full report will be shared with members and the Government.
