The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit will take place in Paris on 10th and 11th February 2025. It will gather Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organisations, CEOs of small and large companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organisations, artists and members of civil society. On this occasion, Renaissance Numérique, Digihumanism, The Future Society, Wikimedia France, the Avaaz Foundation, Connected by Data and the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law are glad to invite you to their civil society side-event: the Citizens’ AI Action Summit!
To register for online or on site, please click here
Agenda
9.00-9.30 Welcome coffee
9.30-9.35 Opening remarks
by Charles Bouffier, Partner, IP-IT & Data Protection, Racine Avocats and Samuel Le Goff, Chairman, Renaissance Numérique
9.35-9.50 Introduction
by Caroline Jeanmaire, Senior Associate, The Future Society
Presentation of the results of the experts and citizens consultations organised ahead of the Summit, with a focus on the “Global AI Governance” track.
9.50-10.40 Harnessing AI for the common good: Challenges and democratic solutions
Sarah Andrew, Legal and Campaign Director, Avaaz Foundation: “Artificial Intelligence, Real Damage: the growing evidence of AI’s human rights impact”
Henry Papadatos, Managing Director, SaferAI: “Keeping Large AI Companies Accountable: Risk Management Evaluations”
Zakariyau Yusuf, Director, Tech Governance Project: “African civil society’s role in supporting AI governance coordination”
Jessica Galissaire, Studies Manager, Renaissance Numérique: “Proposals for a more meaningful inclusion of civil society in global AI governance processes”
In their interventions, speakers will share views on current challenges and possible solutions for the future. These short remarks aim to give food for thought to participants for the discussion that will follow.
10.40-11.45 Discussion and ideation of a “Civil Society Wish List for Meaningful Engagement in Global AI Governance”
Involving all participants, moderated by Karine Caunes, Executive Director, Digihumanism, Tim Davies, Research Director, Connected, and Laura Lazaro Cabrera, Programme Director for Equity and Data, Centre for Democracy & Technology Europe
Questions to be addressed include:
What have been the most effective ways for civil society to engage with global AI governance initiatives?
What have been obstacles to meaningful engagement across the years?
How can these obstacles be overcome?
Has civil society been successfully and meaningfully involved in the road to the Paris AI Action Summit? How about during the Summit?
What could be some solutions/recommendations to explore for future Summits and beyond?
If you had one wish that could lead to a more meaningful engagement of civil society in global AI governance efforts, what would that be?
In addition to the actual discussion, participants both online and on-site will be encouraged to share input via an interactive platform.
11.45-12.00 Key takeaways & Next steps
by David Evan Harris, Chancellor’s Public Scholar, University of California, Berkeley
Background & Context
The Artificial Intelligence (AI) Action Summit will take place in Paris on 10th and 11th February 2025. It will gather Heads of State and Government, leaders of international organisations, CEOs of small and large companies, representatives of academia, non-governmental organisations, artists and members of civil society. The event follows two previous summits: one at Bletchley Park (UK) in 2023, focusing mainly on AI safety issues, and another in Seoul in 2025, expanding the agenda to a larger range of issues including safety, innovation and inclusivity.
In the run up to this third global AI summit, its organisers have further expanded the scope to a wider range of topics, centered around the five following areas and each led by a “thematic envoy”: public interest AI; future of work; innovation and culture; trust in AI; and global AI governance.
Across the five themes, they have committed to making the event “as inclusive as possible”, including the participation of civil society.
A number of official side-events are being organised to allow for further discussion on pressing AI governance issues. To this end, a coalition of civil society organisations – Renaissance Numérique, Wikimedia France, Connected by Data, Avaaz, The Future Society, Digihumanism and the European Center for Not-for-Profit Law – are organising a dedicated side event on the importance of actively engaging civil society in the global AI governance discourse.