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Groundbreaking AI projects showcased at AI Action Summit in Paris
Inside the Grand Palais at the 2025 AI Action Summit, global leaders and innovators gathered to showcase how artificial intelligence is tackling some of the world’s most urgent challenges. The Paris Peace Forum selected 50 groundbreaking AI projects from over 770 applicants across 111 countries for their potential to drive positive change.
Among the featured projects was Disha, an AI-driven disaster response initiative from the UN Global Pulse Lab. "Our model compares satellite images before and after disasters like floods or earthquakes to identify damage and direct aid efficiently," explained Talea von Lupin.
Another initiative, Phoenix, is using AI for peacebuilding by analyzing social media discourse to detect and address polarization. "We help mediators monitor online narratives in an ethical and participatory way," said Rita Costa Cots, emphasizing the tool's role in conflict resolution.
In healthcare, Care for Rare is leveraging AI to detect rare genetic diseases in newborns, helping doctors diagnose conditions early and save lives. "We involve medical professionals in the design process, so the technology is easy to use from day one," said Jerry John Kponyo.
Meanwhile, Masakhane, an African-led initiative, is working to build AI-powered language tools for indigenous languages. "Many African farmers rely only on their native languages. AI can bridge this gap, empowering them with information and improving livelihoods," explained Tajuddeen Gwadabe.
With selected projects spanning 28 countries—including 22 from the Global South—the summit underscored the power of AI to drive sustainable and equitable progress. From environmental protection to healthcare breakthroughs, the innovations showcased in Paris demonstrate how AI can be a force for good, inclusion, and global development.
This segment, reported by GZERO's own Tony Maciulis, is part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
France's AI Action Summit maps a European vision for AI
“France has a special message in AI,” says Justin Vaïsse, director general of the Paris Peace Forum. Speaking to GZERO’s Tony Maciulis at the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, Vaïsse highlighted France’s diplomatic and technological role in shaping global AI governance. The shift from an AI “safety” summit, as it was called in 2023 and 2024, to this year’s “action” summit reflects the growing urgency to balance AI innovation with AI regulation as European leaders reconsider the impact of early AI laws on competitiveness. Meanwhile, tensions over US-Europe AI policy remain, with Vaïsse making clear: “We certainly have a right to regulate.”
This conversation is part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 AI Action Summit in Paris, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
How does Europe balance AI and energy transition?
“I can tell you Europe is absolutely committed to tackling climate change, to developing this green economy, and to making the green transition a European success,” said Nadia Calviño, President of the European Investment Bank.
The rollout of artificial intelligence has raised big questions about how it will impact Europe’s transition to a more sustainable economy. During a Global Stage livestream at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Calviño stressed the continent’s role in addressing risks generated by AI. She said, “I think it will be key when we're talking about these technologies that have such a huge demand for energy supply.” Alongside countries being energy-conscious, Calviño stresses that building strong trust between businesses and citizens will help the new technologies “unleash their full potential.”
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
Click to watch the full discussion for our panel's insights on AI's future and how it is expected to transform our economy and society by 2030.
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- France's AI Action Summit maps a European vision for AI - GZERO Media ›
We're on path to building an intelligence grid, says Peng Xiao
"We are on the right path to building, what I call, the 'intelligence grid' alongside the electricity grid," said Peng Xiao, CEO of G42.
As Donald Trump begins his new term, artificial intelligence has reemerged as a major topic of discussion. During a Global Stage livestream at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Peng highlighted the benefits and challenges of advancing AI technology. He praised Trump’s global infrastructure build-out initiative and AI’s potential to integrate seamlessly into daily life but underscored, "We cannot afford for intelligence not to be equally distributed."
Peng emphasized the need for global governance and development to be "equitable, systematic, and coordinated across regions." Thus as private sector investments in AI surge, policy decisions in the coming months will be closely watched
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
Click to watch the full discussion for our panel's insights on AI's future and how it is expected to transform our economy and society by 2030.
AI can reduce trade costs, says WTO's Ngozi Okonojo-Iweala
"AI has (the) potential to do one thing which is very important to get developing countries more integrated into global markets and that is reduced trade costs,” said Ngozi Okonojo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, during a Global Stage livestream at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
She shares that the organization’s new report “Trading with Intelligence,” shows significant upsides to AI in trade. At a time when supply chains remain fragile, Iweala notes that "we've done simulations that show that world trade could increase by about 14% by 2040.”
However, Iweala emphasizes that technology adoption must happen across the board and include the Global South in the conversation. That means ensuring developing countries have the electrical infrastructure and capacity to handle the technology. Otherwise, she warns that the “increase drops substantially; it halves actually.”
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
Click to watch the full discussion for our panel's insights on AI's future and how it is expected to transform our economy and society by 2030.
Trump's early action on AI
“The interesting thing about Donald Trump,” said Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, “is that this is not his first time as president of the United States.”
As the 47th president begins his second term, conversations about artificial intelligence are again taking center stage. Speaking at Davos, Smith reflected on Trump’s earlier efforts to prioritize AI during his first administration, citing the groundbreaking 2019 executive order that laid the foundation for US leadership in the field.
The order focused on three key pillars: investing in AI research and development, skilling the workforce for the AI-driven future, and opening global markets for American innovation. Smith sees Trump’s return to office as an opportunity to reinvigorate these priorities with renewed energy.
With AI rapidly reshaping industries and societies, early signals from the new administration suggest a continued commitment to ensuring the United States remains at the forefront of this critical technological revolution. As Smith put it, “he has an opportunity to bring even more energy to that.”
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
Click to watch the full discussion for our panel's insights on AI's future and how it is expected to transform our economy and society by 2030.
Exporting AI in a responsible and secure way
Tech giants like Microsoft are backing a massive effort to add AI data centers worldwide, including a $1.5 billion investment to introduce the latest Microsoft AI technologies to the UAE. Speaking at Davos, Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President of Microsoft, discussed the importance of bringing AI to countries in a responsible way.
Smith highlighted that international cooperation around the use of AI is key. That includes creating bilateral agreements between countries and developing goal-oriented initiatives with AI companies. Such measures would “ensure that the AI technology and the graphic processing units would be secure. They wouldn't be diverted for improper uses,” said Smith.
Microsoft’s approach to advancing AI responsibly echoes the global frameworks developed around other technologies. Smith emphasized, “What you see is the emergence of a new regime to export AI around the world as nuclear power was exported around the world.”
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.
Click to watch the full discussion for our panel's insights on AI's future and how it is expected to transform our economy and society by 2030.
Ian Bremmer: Can the US still lead AI innovation while cutting global ties?
As global AI innovation accelerates, Ian Bremmer unpacks the shifting priorities of world leaders. During a Global Stage livestream at the World Economic Forum in Davos, he highlights the UK’s rebranding of its “AI Safety Summit” to an “AI Action Summit” in 2025, calling it a telling sign of the race to harness AI’s economic potential.
"There is enormous effort by every actor that's touching AI right now to try to ensure competitiveness, try to ensure productivity, try to take advantage of these tools and set them to work," he says. "Everyone agrees with that."
However, Ian flags a contradiction in the US approach: while Donald Trump’s administration is doubling down on innovation, its simultaneous withdrawal from global agreements like the Paris Accord and the WHO poses challenges. “What is a world going to look like when the country that is doing the most to try to ensure that it is driving that innovation is also at the same time withdrawing from global responsibilities and architecture that it created, which we've never seen before?” he asks. Bremmer warns that this duality could hinder efforts to scale AI’s benefits equitably, especially for developing nations.
This conversation, moderated by Becky Anderson, was part of the Global Stage series at the 2025 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, presented by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft.