PARIS: France hopes that world leaders and tech executives at an artificial intelligence summit in Paris will agree the AI revolution should be inclusive and sustainable, although it was unclear on Monday whether the United States would be supportive.
Eagerness to rein in AI has waned since previous summits in Britain and South Korea that focused world powers’ attention on the technology’s risks after ChatGPT’s viral launch in 2022.
As US President Donald Trump has torn up his predecessor’s AI guardrails to promote US competitiveness, pressure has built on the European Union to pursue a lighter-touch approach to AI to help keep European companies in the tech race.
A January 30 version of the non-binding draft statement on AI stewardship, a copy of which was seen by Reuters, called for an “inclusive approach” to AI that is multi-stakeholder, human rights-based and bolsters the developing world.
The draft statement laid out priorities that included “avoiding market concentration” and “making AI sustainable for people and the planet.”
US Vice President JD Vance could spell out the United States’ views when he gives a speech at the summit on Tuesday.
Trump’s early moves on AI have underscored how far the strategies to regulate AI in the United States, China and EU have diverged.
And many at the two-day summit that started on Monday pushed the EU to soften its own rulebook.
“If we want growth, jobs and progress, we must allow innovators to innovate, builders to build and developers to develop,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in an op-ed in Le Monde newspaper.
Even the summit’s host, French President Emmanuel Macron said: “There’s a risk some decide to have no rules and that’s dangerous. But there’s also the opposite risk, if Europe gives itself too many rules.”
“We should not be afraid of innovation,” Macron told regional French newspapers.
European lawmakers last year approved the bloc’s AI Act, the world’s first comprehensive set of rules governing the technology.
China’s DeepSeek challenged the United States’ AI leadership last month by freely distributing a human-like reasoning system, galvanizing geopolitical and industry rivals to race faster still.
More investment
Meanwhile, one early outcome from the summit was the launch of Current AI, a partnership of countries such as France and Germany and industry players including Google and Salesforce.
With an initial $400 million in investment, the partnership will spearhead public-interest projects such as making high-quality data for AI available and investing in open-source tools. It is aiming for up to $2.5 billion in capital over five years.
Current AI founder Martin Tisné told Reuters a public-interest focus was necessary to avoid AI having downsides like social media has had. “We have to have learned the lessons,” he said.
Separately, France will announce private sector investments totaling some 109 billion euros ($113 billion) during the summit, Macron said on Sunday.
“The size of this 100 billion euro investment reassured us, in a way, that there’s going to be ambitious enough projects in France,” said Clem Delangue, the CEO of Hugging Face, a US company with French co-founders that is a hub for open-source AI online.
Risks
Not everyone in Paris agreed with taking a lighter-touch approach to AI regulation.
“What I worry about is that... there will be pressures from the US and elsewhere to weaken the EU’s AI Act and weaken those existing protections,” said Brian Chen, policy director at Data & Society, a US-based nonprofit.
Labour leaders expressed concerns on the impact of AI on workers, including what happens to workers whose jobs are taken over by AI and are pushed into new jobs.
“There is a risk of those jobs being much less paid and sometimes with much less protection,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, director-general of the International Labour Organization.
Top political leaders including China’s Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing are also attending the summit, as well as top executives such as Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai and OpenAI’s Altman.
Paris AI summit pits innovation ambitions against job loss fears
https://arab.news/4ts27
Paris AI summit pits innovation ambitions against job loss fears
- “We should not be afraid of innovation,” Macron told regional French newspapers
- China’s DeepSeek challenged the United States’ AI leadership last month by freely distributing a human-like reasoning system
India’s wealthy embrace a new luxury symbol: water
- Tap water in India is not fit for human consumption
- Wealthy opt for premium water as wellness craze boosts industry
NEW DELHI: At an Indian gourmet food store, Avanti Mehta is organizing a blind tasting of drinks sourced from France, Italy and India. No, this isn’t wine, it’s water.
Participants use tiny shot glasses to check the minerality, carbonation and salinity in samples of Evian from the French Alps, Perrier from southern France, San Pellegrino from Italy and India’s Aava from the foothills of the Aravalli mountains.
“They will all taste different ... you should be choosing a water that can give you some sort of nutritional value,” said Mehta, who is 32 and calls herself India’s youngest water sommelier, a term usually associated with premium wine. Her family owns the Aava mineral water brand. Premium water is a $400 million business in the world’s most populous nation and is growing bigger as its wealthy see it as a new status symbol that fits in with a spreading wellness craze.
Premium Indian mineral water costs around $1 for a one-liter bottle, while imported brands are upwards of $3, or 15 times the price of the country’s lowest-priced basic bottled water.
Clean water is a privilege in the country of 1.4 billion people where researchers say 70 percent of the groundwater is contaminated. Tap water remains unfit to drink, and 16 people died in Indore city after consuming contaminated tap water in December.
Many in India see bottled water as a necessity and standard 20 US-cent bottles are available widely at convenience stores, restaurants and hotels. The market is worth nearly $5 billion annually and is set to grow 24 percent a year — among the fastest in the world.
Bottled water demand in United States or China is driven by convenience, making it a $30 billion-plus market in each country which will grow just 4-5 percent each year, Euromonitor says.
In India, the premium water segment is leading the surge in demand, accounting for 8 percent of the bottled water market last year compared to just 1 percent in 2021, Euromonitor said.
“Distrust of municipal water in some areas has escalated the demand for bottled water. Now, people understand how mineral water has more health benefits. It’s expensive, but the category will boom,” said Amulya Pandit, a senior consultant at Euromonitor specializing in the drinks market.
Among its consumers are New Delhi-based real estate developer B.S. Batra, who says his family uses only premium water at home to get more minerals and safeguard health.
“You feel different, more energetic during the day,” said Batra, 49, an avid badminton player.
“I consume mineral water even with whisky at home, and kids use it for their smoothies.”
Water lures Bollywood star, wealthy
The popular 20-cent plastic bottled water is mainly made by Pepsi, Coca-Cola and Indian market leader Bisleri. In addition, Indians who can afford it, install purifiers in their homes which clean the water but also remove most minerals.
Imported and local premium waters are luring wealthy consumers and businesses alike.
Bollywood star Bhumi Pednekar and her sister have launched Backbay — selling 750 ml cartons of mineral water for $2.2; Indian conglomerate Tata is expanding its premium water portfolio, and retailers and businesses are reporting higher sales.
Tata Consumer Products, also Starbucks’ partner in India, sells 20-cent bottled water, but premium water is its priority as it sees affluent, health-focused consumers willing to spend on the drink without worrying about the price, CEO Sunil D’Souza said in an interview.
“I don’t have to push water uphill...I see a long, long, long runway for the business,” he said.
Tata’s premium “Himalayan” mineral water factory — which a Reuters photographer visited — is located in the foothills of the Himalayan range in Himachal Pradesh state. Workers there largely keep a hands-free watch on machines filling plastic and glass bottles with water sourced from a natural underground aquifer.
Looking for springs
Most Indians prefer still water, and the sparkling variant remains niche. Tata said it plans to launch a sparkling Himalayan water, and is also scouting for natural springs for expanding its other offerings. At three Foodstories Indian gourmet stores, sales of premium waters tripled in 2025. Customer demand prompted the chain to import “light and creamy” Saratoga Spring Water from New York, which costs 799 rupees ($9) for a 355-milliliter (12-fluid-ounce) bottle, and stocks sold out within days, said co-founder Avni Biyani.
Indian mineral water brand Aava’s sales touched a record 805 million rupees ($9 million) last year, growing 40 percent a year since 2021. Tata said its basic and premium water portfolio will grow 30 percent a year, after growing tenfold to $65 million in six years.
Imported waters, which attract an over 30 percent tax, are pricier than Indian brands. Nestle’s Perrier and San Pellegrino, and Danone’s Evian retail for over 300 rupees, or $3.20, for a 750 ml bottle.
Nestle declined to comment, while Danone said the Indian bottled water market was growing at a “robust” pace but imported waters “tend to be niche and boutique.”
“When you open your tap, you’re not getting an Aava, Evian ... And that is what you’re essentially paying for,” said water sommelier Mehta.
At the water tasting session, some participants said they enjoyed the experience but many found the price hard to swallow.
“To be honest, it is kind of expensive,” said executive Hoshini Vallabhaneni, one of 14 people at the event. “For everyday use — it will burn a hole in the pocket.”
