At the conclusion of the plenary session of the AI Action Summit at the Grand Palais, France’s President Emmanuel Macron ( front center ) poses for a group photo with world leaders and attendees ( including Dr. Alondra Nelson ). ( Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images )
At the Paris AI Action Summit on February 10-11, 2025, France and India a gathering of heads of state and government, leaders of international organizations, CEOs of small and large companies, academics, representatives of non-governmental organizations, artists and members of civil society for the third in a series of international discussions on policy issues surrounding artificial intelligence ( AI ). The event’s key themes were public curiosity Intelligence, the future of work, innovation and culture, openness and trust in AI, and international AI governance.
The conference came to an end with the first statement from US Vice President JD Vance on the global stage. Vance American AI supremacy, and warned other places, especially the European Union, against “tightening the fasteners”.
” The AI coming is not going to be won by hand-wringing about safety”, said Vance. ” It will be won by building, from trustworthy energy plants to the production facilities that can make the cards of the future,” he said.
Importantly, the US and the United Kingdom did no signal the Summit’s last statement, agreed by 60 countries, including France, India, and China. For the first time in history, either nation any of the mountain line ‘ world declarations, which first aired in the UK in 2023 and then reconvened in in 2024.
The night before his speech at a private “working meal” hosted by French President Emmanuel Macron at the Palais de l’Elysée, Vice President Vance was among world leaders, Directors, and a select audience in attendance. One of the invited listeners was National doctor .
At the Institute for Advanced Study, Dr. Nelson holds the Harold F. Linder Chair. She was a part of the wheel commission for the 2023 AI Safety Summit that the UK hosted in Bletchley Park. Dr. Nelson served on the United Nations . She is a former acting director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, where she led the development of the Biden-Harris president’s” “, which served as a basis of President Biden’s , which was rescinded by the Trump administration.
Her entire remarks are provided below. –
Three Fallacies
notes made at the AI Action Summit on the event of the AI Action Summit at Elysée Palace
Alondra Nelson
Paris, France
February 10, 2025
Monsieur le Président, Mr. Vice President, Hello, Distinguished Friends, Ladies and Gentlemen:
Let me thank President Macron for organizing this crucial mountain, and thank Anne Bouverot, whose authority as a Special Envoy has helped bring the President’s optimistic vision to life.
I would like, now, to talk about three fallacies – three basic myths in the way we think about artificial intelligence. These are concepts about AI that many of us have heard and practiced in our advertising, politics, and business but no longer fit our needs.
These are good-faith errors, stories and conventions that have emerged as our cultures have tried to make sense of this fast-moving systems. How lucky we are to have the opportunity to dispel these myths and jointly chart a better program for the future.
The second mistake is that AI’s goals are scale and efficiency.
We have heard that the purpose of AI is to promote growth, to compete in the global marketplace, to increase the rate of productivity.
And however: these are works of AI.
But we must not deceive purpose with function. We must not confuse who AI may assist with what AI you perform.
The function of this energy should be to advance society.
To improve and simplify people’s lives. To improve health and ease suffering, to defend safety and advertise security. To help dignity and opened up opportunity, and intensify the whole spectrum of human potential.
The purpose of AI is not size or performance. The purpose of AI is individuals.
The second mistake we’ve heard is that AI requires a balance – between security and progress, between competitors and cooperation, and between rights and development.
But each of these is a false option.
History demonstrates that attentive leadership is what actually spurs innovation. Catalytic converter growth was influenced by environmental regulations. Aviation regulations made our aircraft safer and brought our economies close together.
We’ve seen rapid improvements in protein fold, weather modelling, and so much more thanks to technological cooperation and a free flowing market of ideas. When researchers can openly discuss strategies and types, when developers can build upon each other’s work, we create a virtuous cycle of innovation.
We now have more sophisticated procedures and better models thanks to supporting analysis to correlate Artificial with our values. We must accept fake binary in order to make breakthroughs. It calls us to manage carefully.
The fourth fallacy, and the last one I may share, is this:
AI may unavoidably have significant positive effects on society. The effects many of us hope for, or anticipate, are no natural features of the technologies itself. They are not coded into techniques, or embedded in neural network.
The positive outcomes that does come from AI, in terms of science and education, healthcare, and the economy, may be actively promoted through leadership and genuine innovation, which is ultimately responsible and human-centered.
These advantages won’t just come from the unidentified side of market dynamics. They may be nurtured in close cooperation with our political organizations and civil society. And most importantly, AI in the public curiosity calls for the meaningful participation of the very people whose lives could be changed by these solutions.
I am awake about the threats of artificial intelligence, about the ways this technology can sustain prejudice, threaten security, and undermine social cohesion across continents.
But I must say a word of hope before I end tonight:
The printing press didn’t just print books – it democratized knowledge. The telephone connected families across a great distance, not just to transmit voice. The internet provided unprecedented opportunities for collaboration and creativity in addition to connecting computers.
We have the resources to help all of our employees use AI.
If we move beyond these three fallacies, if we advance thoughtful governance, we can ensure AI systems enhance rather than diminish human rights and dignity.
Instead of concentrating power, we can build systems that expand opportunity. We can create technology that promotes democracy rather than denigrates it.
Now, as we shape what may be humanity’s most transformative innovation, we must ensure AI follows this tradition.
Merci.