Macron Says AI Should Not Be 'Wild West'

 French President Emmanuel Macron attends to the presentation of the French Pavilion for the Osaka 2025 World Expo at the City of Architecture and Heritage in Paris, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends to the presentation of the French Pavilion for the Osaka 2025 World Expo at the City of Architecture and Heritage in Paris, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
TT
20

Macron Says AI Should Not Be 'Wild West'

 French President Emmanuel Macron attends to the presentation of the French Pavilion for the Osaka 2025 World Expo at the City of Architecture and Heritage in Paris, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)
French President Emmanuel Macron attends to the presentation of the French Pavilion for the Osaka 2025 World Expo at the City of Architecture and Heritage in Paris, on February 4, 2025. (AFP)

Development of artificial intelligence (AI) should not be an unregulated "Wild West", French President Emmanuel Macron said Friday ahead of a global summit on the technology in Paris.

The call to impose rules -- tempered with the pro-business president's fundamental optimism about the technology -- comes as France and Europe push to stay abreast of the AI race dominated by the US and China.

"AI can't be the Wild West," Macron told French regional newspapers including Ouest-France and Le Parisien in advance of the gathering of global political and tech industry leaders on Monday and Tuesday.

"There have to be rules" and "there are all kinds of fields where we don't want AI, because we don't want it creating discrimination or mass control in our society," he added.

Macron nevertheless insisted that "we shouldn't be afraid of innovation".

There is "a risk that some people don't set themselves any rules... but also the reverse, that Europe sets itself too many rules, parts ways with the others and therefore can't innovate," he warned.

The French leader's attempt to reconcile the two positions at the summit will be a "declaration open for any country to sign, on a completely voluntary basis, with strong principles on protecting rights, the environment, news integrity and intellectual property," Macron said.

European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen is one of the highest-profile political leaders to attend the summit in Paris, alongside figures like US Vice President JD Vance and Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing.

The EU must be "ready to fight to be fully autonomous and independent, or will we let the competition shrink to a battle between the USA and China?" Macron said.

"If Europe takes an interest in this subject, simplifies and speeds up, it has cards to play," he added.

Macron called for "European and economic patriotism" including buying locally developed AI services that he said promised boosts for the EU's competitiveness and productivity.

Von der Leyen is expected to announce plans to build around 10 public supercomputers for research and use by start-up firms, the president added.



Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
TT
20

Pope Leo Warns Politicians of the Challenges Posed by AI

This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)
This handout photograph taken and released by the Vatican Media on June 21 2025, shows Pope Leo XIV delivers his speech as he meets with participants in the Jubilee of the Rulers, in The Vatican. (Handout / Vatican Media / AFP)

Pope Leo warned politicians on Saturday of the challenges posed by the rise of artificial intelligence (AI), addressing its potential impact on younger people as a prime concern.

Speaking at an event attended by Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and parliamentary delegations from 68 countries, Leo revisited a topic that he has raised on a number of occasions during the first few weeks of his papacy.

"In particular, it must not be forgotten that artificial intelligence functions as a tool for the good of human beings, not to diminish them or even to replace them," Leo said at an event held as part of the Roman Catholic Jubilee or Holy Year.

AI proponents say it will speed up scientific and technological progress and help people to carry out routine tasks, granting them more time to pursue higher-value and creative work.

The US-born pontiff said attention was needed to protect "healthy, fair and sound lifestyles, especially for the good of younger generations."

He noted that AI's "static memory" was in no way comparable to the "creative, dynamic" power of human memory.

"Our personal life has greater value than any algorithm, and social relationships require spaces for development that far transcend the limited patterns that any soulless machine can pre-package," he said.

Leo, who became pope in May, has spoken previously of the threat posed by AI to jobs and has called on journalists to use it responsibly.