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The AI Action Summit, held on 10-11 February in Paris, brought together key stakeholders from governments, research, business, and civil society to address AI’s economic, cultural, political, and civic challenges. Close collaboration between these actors is crucial. As a leading European player in participatory democracy and an active advocate for AI and democracy, Make.org sought to refocus the debate on an often-overlooked issue: AI’s impact on democracy. This was the core objective of the AI Action Summit Welcoming Event “AI & Democracy”.
This event gathered global leaders from institutions, innovative organisations, universities, and civil society. Together, they explored the relationship between AI and democracy, tackle the challenges it presents, and work towards AI that serves democracy — not the other way around.
Alicia Combaz and Axel Dauchez, Founders of Make.org: “AI is transforming our world at an unprecedented pace. Without robust democratic safeguards, it risks eroding the principles we hold dear. Conversely, only robust democracies can provide a level playing field for AI innovation. At the AI Action Summit, we aim to forge a historic pact between AI and democracy—one that empowers citizens and strengthens democratic resilience.”
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More than 1,200 participants took part in this discussion, enriched by insightful contributions from our world-class guest speakers.
Sviatlana Tsikhanouskaya, National Leader of Belarus, Head of the United Transitional Cabinet, and President-elect of Belarus: “We must continue to find innovative methods to advance our democratic fight without putting people at risk. AI might be progress in good hands, but it might serve oppression when it is in evil hands.”
Oliver Röpke, President of the European Economic and Social Committee: “Please allow me to first thank Axel and Alicia for this event, which really complements the AI Action Summit. Together, we can ensure AI fosters human dignity, social equity, and fair work while upholding EU values, promoting human-centric innovation, and safeguarding workers’ rights.”
Audrey Tang, Cyber Ambassador and First Digital Minister of Taiwan: “Regarding AI development, we are seeing not only a vertical race to power, but also a horizontal race to safety, done openly. As an AI researcher, I believe tools should align with humanity's needs. "It is imperative that the government, the tech community and companies come together to amplify the impact of civic technology.”
Henna Virkkunen, Executive Vice-President of the European Commission for Tech Sovereignty, Security, and Democracy: “I want Europe to become a leader on AI, digital and other frontier technologies, such as chips or quantum. Tech sovereignty is key for our future competitiveness, but also to ensure our security and protect our democracy . We must encourage investment in these sectors, simplify our rules to improve business environment, and encourage startups, scaleups and talents to flourish on the continent.”
We were delighted to host this official side event of the Summit with the support of our different partners, including École normale supérieure as Academic Partner, and KPMG France and La Poste Groupe Docaposte as Global Partners.
Frédéric Worms, Director of École normale supérieure - PSL: “The main challenge for #AI and democracy is #trust. Democracy is a way to conciliate different points of view, to bring together people without war, but it needs trust. We need to build a reliable AI.”
Pierre Etienne Bardin, Chief Data Officer & Head of Analytics - La Poste Groupe: “We have the responsibility to give knowledge to people, to help them understand both the potential and the risks of AI. That’s why at La Poste we started training employees and certifying them in AI.”
Axel de Goursac, Partner, AI Lead, KPMG France: “AI can only create lasting value if built on trust and responsibility. From strategy to deployment, ethical, scalable AI is essential to its impact on business and society.”
A huge thank you to all our partners, speakers, and attendees who made this AI Action Summit Welcoming Event such a success!
