But the hurdles ahead are huge according to experts. For the past few months, France has been on a high when it comes to artificial intelligence (AI). In the context of an investor meeting in Paris, Microsoft announced new investments in data centers and IT, which will reach four billion euros by 2027.

“With the [νέο] data center, which will be one of the largest in Europe, we will be at the forefront of developments in data storage and IT,” said President Macron. In 2023, it had announced the launch of a state plan for artificial intelligence, under which €500 million will be spent by 2030 to promote AI-related research. In addition, last December the Paris-based startup company Mistral AI raised equity capital and acquired the title of “unicorn”, which is given to companies with a value of more than one billion dollars. Mistral AI is considered a competitor to OpenAI, the company that developed ChatGPT.

According to experts, however, France and Europe still have a long way to go in the field of artificial intelligence. “The French government has decided to flip the switch, so that the country will be the star of the IT industry – as opposed to Germany,” Noah Green, research assistant at the artificial intelligence group at the Center for a New American Security, told DW. . “Despite everything, the USA is currently in first place, followed by China, with some distance Great Britain and finally France and Germany”, explains Green.

This fact is not solely due to technological reasons: “The US has led the market for so long that many investors prefer to invest their money there because they know that the necessary talent and the right infrastructure are here,” adds Green. “France, on the other hand, is known for seeking to limit the market through its legal framework, which tech giants like Google have faced in the past.”

Europe needs more supercomputers

However, Véronique Vendeau, co-founder of the Parisian startup NukkAI, was always sure that her company would keep its headquarters in France. “There are excellent researchers here, as well as numerous government funding programs,” Wedo told DW.

“Our AI is different from others because humans are an integral part of the system – they can follow the processes and get precise explanations from the AI ​​for its suggestions,” says the expert. “We also use much less data, which saves energy.” More than ten customers leverage NukkAI’s technology for their logistics planning, including NATO. In addition, NukkAI works closely with French universities, through which the company gains access to the Jean Zay supercomputer in Saclay, France – one of the most efficient supercomputers in Europe.

Christine Dugouin, a university lecturer and researcher at the Artificial Intelligence Observatory of the Sorbonne University, believes that France and Europe will soon need more and better supercomputers. “This is the only way we will be able to keep up with developments in the IT industry,” he tells DW.

Although two new supercomputers are already scheduled to be installed in France and Germany within the next two years, Duguan points out that the Americans are still leading the way, and it even looks like they will now be overtaken by the Chinese – who may have the most efficient at their disposal. supercomputer worldwide.

Hence, European cooperation is particularly important, not only because of the competition with the USA and China, but also for another reason: “Since the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022, Moscow has been conducting a disinformation campaign against Europe, the which is based on AI technologies – so we need to be able to defend together against that as well,” observes Duguan.

An increase in government funding is necessary

Antoine Bord, vice president for artificial intelligence at Helsing, a “unicorn” company of the defense industry based in France, Germany and Great Britain, underlines for his part that in view of the war in Ukraine “Europe and the Western democracies are facing a danger that threatens their very existence. That is why we need to consolidate our shared technological and defense dominance – and in this AI will play a key role.” In order for Europe to be able to face the US and China, “we need a pan-European AI investment plan”.

Philippe Agion, professor of economics at the International School of Business Administration in Paris and the London School of Economics, agrees with this. Besides, “over the next decade the AI ​​industry could increase annual economic growth by 0.8%,” he adds to DW. “However, for this to happen, France needs to draw up a specific industrial policy and invest at least 25 billion euros.”

Will Europe get a share of the pie?

Noah Green believes in the power of AI. However, he is not sure to what extent Europe will benefit from developments in the sector. “The US follows a laissez-faire policy and puts as few barriers as possible in the industry, with the aim of enhancing competition. The EU instead wants to champion the regulation of artificial intelligence, aiming to protect fundamental rights,” explains the researcher – a few days ago EU member states agreed on the AI ​​regulatory framework, which among other things prohibits development of certain artificial intelligence applications that are classified as dangerous.

For NukkAI’s Vendo the recipe for success in the French – and European – AI sector is this: “Instead of trying to keep up with giants like Google, which plays on a completely different level in terms of data storage, we should let’s focus on our own strengths – like in France, for example, robotics based on artificial intelligence.”

Edited by: Giorgos Passas