Artificial intelligence (AI) is already here and in just two years, since the disruption of ChatGPT, it is already redefining the economy, politics and society. And all at breakneck speed. At the 2023 version of the Davos Forum, Satia Nadella put the coordinates of the topic clearly: "I would say, we are still waiting for the industrial revolution is to reach some large parts of the world, and the internet maybe take 30 years, and the cloud and mobile took 15 years, now, we're talking months."

That's one of the calls of urgency that has now appeared at the World Summit on AI in Paris, where political leaders and executives from big tech companies are debating the challenges and opportunities of this technology. Two realities emerge clearly: AI will attract billions in investments and, at the same time, it will generate new inequalities and global challenges due to its rapid implementation and deployment.

More money in investments

First to make announcements was the host nation: France put 109 billion euros in investments on the table to strengthen its AI sector, backed by funds from the United Arab Emirates, the United States and Canada. This is a considerable investment and will be made by an entire nation; but companies also made their announcements: $100 billion will be allocated by Amazon alone in 2025 for cloud and AI and Google will put in $75 billion over the same period and for the same purposes.

While Europe is trying to consolidate its position, China is moving forward with its own strategies. The startup DeepSeek has developed an AI model with an initial investment of just $5 million, which also consumes less energy than its competitors. This type of innovation underscores the inequality in access to resources for AI development and emphasizes creativity to overcome challenges.

French President Emmanuel Macron has called for a "European reaction" and announced a strategy similar to that used in the reconstruction of Notre Dame to accelerate AI projects. The urgency of these measures responds to the fear that Europe will fall behind the US and China in this technological race.

But he was not the only one to set alarm bells ringing: while AI promises efficiency and economic growth, it also poses risks for the labor market. The International Labor Organization (ILO) warns that automation will disproportionately affect women, given that many of the tasks likely to be replaced by AI are concentrated in sectors where they are in the majority, such as customer service and administration.

According to the ILO, approximately 75 million jobs could be affected by AI, increasing the gender gap in employment. The problem is not just job losses, but that the new jobs created could be "less well paid and less well protected." The solution, according to experts at the summit, lies in strengthening social protection systems and promoting digital skills training.

"It is not AI that will take away our jobs, but the lack of preparation to develop new skills in this context," said Gilbert Houngbo, director general of the ILO.

The threat of disinformation

AI is also transforming the way information is produced and consumed, with alarming consequences for democracy. Deepfakes and generative chatbots have facilitated the spread of fake news and the manipulation of public opinion. Recent examples include fake recordings in Slovakia that influenced elections and fraudulent messages attributed to political figures, such as former President Joe Biden.

Women have fallen victim to another disturbing trend: pornographic deepfakes involving politicians and celebrities. Organizations such as the American Sunlight Project have warned that any woman could be a target of these practices, underscoring the need for stricter regulations and media education to combat disinformation.

One of the central goals of the summit is to define a global framework for AI governance. However, differences between the priorities of the U.S., China, India and the European Union make it difficult to build consensus.

To address these challenges, some players are seeking a more inclusive approach. A group of countries, companies and philanthropic organizations announced the creation of Current AI, with an initial investment of $400 million, with the goal of fostering AI development focused on the public interest. This initiative hopes to raise up to $2.5 billion to provide open source tools and assess the social and environmental impact of AI.

Despite concerns, leaders in the technology sector see AI as a tool that will enhance human ingenuity. Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, stressed in his speech that "we are still in the early days of the AI paradigm shift, and we already know it will be the biggest one of our lifetimes." From his perspective, AI has the potential to improve science, health and education, and can be a democratizing factor if properly managed.

For his part, Demis Hassabis, the head of Google's DeepMind AI research lab, also highlighted the technology's potential at an event on Sunday at Google's Paris offices.

"Materials science, mathematics, fusion ... there is virtually no area of science that will not benefit from these AI tools," said the Nobel laureate in chemistry.

As AI advances, the central question remains how far its gaps will go. Unequal access to technology, impact on employment, misinformation and lack of clear regulations are pressing challenges. The Paris summit has made it clear that money will continue to flow into AI, but also that it is imperative to establish rules to mitigate its risks.

AI development will not stop. The question is whether societies and governments will be able to adapt fast enough to ensure that this technological revolution benefits everyone and does not widen existing inequalities. The answer, as discussed in Paris, is yet to be written. And we should not ask AI how to do it.

With information from AFP.