Global Lens: Asking the Big Questions

By Ephraim Agbo 

AI Revolution or Western AI Hegemony?

As the AI Action Summit unfolds in Paris on February 10 and 11, 2025, world leaders, tech executives, and policymakers gather to shape the future of artificial intelligence. The summit, hosted at the Grand Palais, aims to position France and Europe as key players in the global AI landscape, competing with the United States and China.

The official themes of the summit include AI for public interest, global AI governance, the future of work, and the promotion of innovation and culture. However, beneath these discussions lies a critical question:

Is this truly about global AI progress, or is the West reinforcing its dominance over AI governance?

Key Questions to Consider:

• Who sets the rules? The European Union's Artificial Intelligence Act (AI Act), the world's first comprehensive legal framework on AI, addresses the risks associated with AI and positions Europe to play a leading role globally. Its extraterritorial reach means that U.S. companies will be impacted if their AI systems are used by EU customers, emphasizing the importance for U.S. AI companies to closely monitor and adapt to the changing regulatory landscape in the EU.

• Is China disrupting the AI monopoly? With cost-effective models like DeepSeek, China challenges the assumption that AI supremacy requires Western-scale investments. This development has prompted discussions in Paris about how Europe can remain relevant in the AI race.

• What about the Global South? AI development remains concentrated in the U.S., Europe, and China. Nations outside these power blocs often lack the resources and infrastructure to develop and implement AI technologies, raising concerns about their exclusion from shaping AI's future.

• AI as soft power? Western-trained AI models often reflect cultural biases inherent in their training data. This raises concerns about AI becoming a tool of ideological influence, subtly exporting Western norms and potentially marginalizing non-Western perspectives.

The Big Picture:

While the Paris Summit presents AI as a force for good, the deeper struggle is about power. Will AI governance be inclusive, or will it remain an elite-driven affair?

Join the Conversation:

Is AI regulation a necessary safeguard, or just another way for the West to dictate terms?