Paris AI Summit: Can the US, China, and 100 Nations Agree on How To Regulate AI?

Key Takeaways

• France, co-chaired with India, is hosting the AI Summit in Paris on February 10-11.
• This year’s summit is focused on finding the best way to govern AI.
• With the recent release of China’s DeepSeek and subsequent backlash, the summit comes at a critical time for worldwide synergy.

With the fresh introduction of China’s disruptive DeepSeek, the EU’s stringent AI Act, and U.S. President Donald Trump’s vow to remove most of the guardrails from development—the world is pretty split on how it should govern the rapidly advancing technology.

With almost 100 nations on the guest list, including the U.S. and China, the Paris AI Summit next week is arriving at a crossroads for global artificial intelligence.

This year’s event appears to be less about creating new regulations and more about finding common ground.

DeepSeek’s Success Highlights Need for Global Synergy

DeepSeek’s emergence as a major player in China’s AI ecosystem has sharpened the competitive edge in the global AI race, intensifying U.S.–China rivalry and highlighting the urgent need for international regulatory dialogue.

After quickly becoming the most downloaded application in the U.S., the Chinese AI app sent American tech shares plummeting.

Compared to leading U.S. rivals, the app’s lower development costs raises questions about America’s AI dominance.

However, despite seeing major success overseas, the Chinese-made app has faced extreme pushback from lawmakers—mirroring the same actions taken against TikTok.

The Italian Data Protection Authority ordered a nationwide ban of DeepSeek on 28 January, while Australia recently banned all DeepSeek products from government systems.

“AI is a technology full of potential and opportunity, but the Government will not hesitate to act when our agencies identify a national security risk,” Home Affairs Minister Tony Burke said .

However, lawmakers may have good reason to be concerned about DeepSeek’s entry into the global market.

On January 29, Wiz Research published a report warning that a DeepSeek database had been left exposed, exposing “over a million lines of log streams with highly sensitive information.”

Can AI Common Ground be Found?

While it is unlikely that the U.S., China, and nearly 100 other nations will immediately agree on binding regulations, the summit may well succeed in establishing a common foundation.

Reuters reported, citing people involved in the summit, that European companies like France-based Mistral AI have been calling for more flexible ways to implement the EU AI Act without slowing down development.

Mistral AI CEO Arthur Mensch has been a fierce campaigner for fewer regulations in the EU, arguing that they limit innovation.

In the U.K., Prime Minister Keir Starmer reversed the previous government’s focus on AI regulation to unveil a high-tech action plan.

The new pledges come after tech companies warned that the U.K. risked falling behind the U.S. if it remained focused on regulation over innovation.

Paris AI Summit

France and India will be hosting the AI Summit in Paris on February 10-11.

Unlike last year, which focused on creating new regulations to mitigate the dangers of AI, this summit will primarily look at “open-source” systems and providing clean energy to power data centers.

The summit is expected to host leading executives from Microsoft, Alphabet, Amazon, and OpenAI.

According to Reuters, Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, will give an on-stage talk during the event.