Event

Global AI Governance: Empowering Civil Society

An official side-event of the Paris AI Action Summit

Racine Avocats, 40 rue de Courcelles, 75008 Paris

Tuesday 11th February 2025, from 9.00am to 12.00

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, The Future Society, Wikimedia France, the Avaaz Foundation, Connected by Data, Digihumanism and the European Center for Non-for-Profit Law are glad to invite you to their civil society side-event.

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, President, 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 Beyond the Summit: Civil Society’s Call for Inclusive AI Governance

  • 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 Tim Davies, Research Director, Connected by Data) and Karine Caunes, Executive Director, Digihumanism

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. As a critical step toward this direction, some civil society organisations have been invited to take part in the core discussions.

Additionally, a number of side-events are being organised during the same week of the summit to allow for further discussion on pressing AI governance issues and enhanced participation. 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. It will complement and build on two key initiatives:

  • In 2024, Renaissance Numérique launched a research project dedicated to the global governance of AI: the AI Dialogues. As a result of three high level dialogues organised in Geneva, Brussels and Paris between April and October 2024, the think tank will publish a final report ahead of the Summit. Building on the contributions of 60+ experts, it will address the obstacles to civil society participation in the global governance of AI and propose actions to overcome these challenges and reinforce the role of civil society in this governance. Key insights from the report will be integrated in the side-event.
  • In November 2024, the AI Summit Consultation was launched to gather global input on the agenda and deliverables of the AI Action Summit. It gathered submissions from over 11,000 citizens and expert organisations, and revealed clear demands: the need for stronger multi stakeholder governance, the rejection of uncontrolled AI development, clear standards for auditable and fair AI, and the importance of focusing on concrete problems where AI has proven value, rejecting techno-solutionism. This consultation marks the first time a global AI Summit’s preparation has included such extensive stakeholder engagement, setting a new standard for inclusive policy development in technological governance. This side-event represents an opportunity to frame the demands of civil society within the achievements of the Summit.

Aim

This side-event aims to discuss and shed light on the critical role of civil society organisations in AI global dialogues, and identify concrete steps to strengthen the voice of civil society for the global governance of AI. Civil society is essential in advocating for robust AI policies that address a spectrum of concerns and risks, while prioritising global wellbeing. They are key for holding AI actors accountable to those policies. And, lastly, they are crucial in democratising AI governance by ensuring that the voices of marginalised and disproportionately impacted communities are not only heard but also meaningfully represented.

Speakers and participants will be invited to share their views on these issues, as well as react to the developments from DAY 1 of the Summit.

The discussions should lead to:

  • the identification of the current challenges civil society faces when trying to take part in global AI governance efforts, like the Paris AI Action Summit;
  • a wish list for future AI Summits, as well as other global AI governance platforms, composed of concrete ways to engage civil society more efficiently and more meaningfully in global AI governance efforts.

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