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Antarctica: The last untouched continent
There are more than 500 billion reasons why Antarctica could be under threat.
Queen's criticised over India campus after job cuts
A union claims it is "scandalous" to offer redundancies while funding a new campus abroad.
Businesses close in protest against Trump’s immigration policies
Many US businesses closed in protest against Trump's immigration policies on a 'day without immigrants'.
Why did Trump pause Canada, Mexico tariffs? Inside 24 hours of chaos
Experts say the primary objective of these tariffs was to 'stop the flow of the illegal drug fentanyl into the US.
Tributes paid to boy, 15, after school stabbing
The boy, named locally as Harvey Willgoose, is described as a "lovely lad" and the "life of a party".
OpenAI joins forces with South Korean tech giant Kakao after DeepSeek scare
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman has signed a deal with South Korean tech giant Kakao.
Hezbollah military dealt “huge blow”
Hezbollah’s military have been dealt a serious blow.
Uganda starts clinical trial to combat Sudan strain of Ebola
Uganda initiates Ebola trial after a nurse's death from the virus.
Man City sign Gonzalez, Tel joins Spurs on transfer deadline day
Nico Gonzalez's acquisition by Man City takes their total spend on new players to $223m during the transfer window.
Trump compares Israel’s ‘tiny land’ in the Middle East to a pen on his desk
US President Donald Trump compares Israel's 'tiny land' in the Middle East to a pen on his desk.
Greece’s ‘Instagram island’ of Santorini rattled by 200 earthquakes
Thousands of locals flee the picturesque island as experts say rolling tremors 'not linked to volcanic activity'.
Before Trump: The long US history of tariff wars with Canada and the world
From a chicken war to a banana brawl, here's a history of tariff wars the US has fought in.
Israel’s Netanyahu to discuss fragile Gaza ceasefire with Trump
The meeting comes as talks on second phase of truce are due, with US president saying no guarantees peace will hold.
France pitches AI summit as 'wake-up call' for Europe
PARIS — France hosts top tech players next week at an artificial intelligence summit meant as a "wake-up call" for Europe as it struggles with AI challenges from the United States and China.
Players from across the sector and representatives from 80 nations will gather in the French capital on February 10 and 11 in the sumptuous Grand Palais, built for the 1900 Universal Exhibition.
In the run-up, President Emmanuel Macron will on Feb. 4 visit research centers applying AI to science and health, before hosting scientists and Nobel Prize winners at his Elysee Palace residence on Wednesday.
A wider science conference will be held at the Polytechnique engineering school on Thursday and Friday.
"The summit comes at exactly the right time for this wake-up call for France and Europe, and to show we are in position" to take advantage of the technology, an official in Macron's office told reporters.
In recent weeks, Washington's announcement of $500 billion in investment to build up AI infrastructure and the release of a frugal but powerful generative AI model by Chinese firm DeepSeek have focused minds in Europe.
France must "not let this revolution pass it by," Macron's office said.
Attendees at the summit will include Sam Altman, head of OpenAI -- the firm that brought generative models to public consciousness in 2022 with the launch of ChatGPT.
Google boss Sundar Pichai and Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis, who leads the company's DeepMind AI research unit, will also come, alongside Arthur Mensch, founder of French AI developer Mistral.
The Elysee has said there are "talks" on hosting DeepSeek founder Liang Wenfeng, and has yet to clarify whether X owner Elon Musk -- who has his own generative initiative, xAI -- has accepted an invitation.
Nor is it clear who will attend from the United States and China, with the French presidency saying only "very high level" representatives will come.
Confirmed guests from Europe include European Commission chief Ursula von der Leyen and German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.
'Stoke confidence'
The tone of the AI summit will be "neither catastrophizing, nor naive," Macron's AI envoy Anne Bouverot told AFP.
Hosting the conference is also an opportunity for Paris to show off its own AI ecosystem, which numbers around 750 companies.
Macron's office has said the summit would see the announcement of "massive" investments along the lines of his annual "Choose France" business conference, at which $15.4 billion of inward investment were pledged in 2024.
Beyond the economic opportunities, AI's impact on culture including artistic creativity and news production will be discussed in a side-event over the weekend.
Debates open to the public, such as that one, are aimed at showing off "positive use cases for AI" to "stoke confidence and speed up adoption" of the technology, said France's digital minister Clara Chappaz.
For now, the French public is skeptical of AI, with 79 percent of respondents telling pollsters Ifop they were "concerned" about the technology in a recent survey.
More 'inclusive' AI?
Paris says it also hopes the summit can help kick off its vision of a more ethical and accessible and less resource-intensive AI.
At present, "the AI under development is pushed by a few large players from a few countries," Bouverot said, whereas France wants "to promote more inclusive development."
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi has been invited to co-host the Paris summit, in a push to bring governments on board.
One of the summit's aims is the establishment of a public-interest foundation for which Paris aims to raise $2.5 billion over five years.
The effort would be "a public-private partnership between various governments, businesses and philanthropic foundations from different countries," Macron's office said.
Paris hopes at the summit to chart different efforts at AI governance around the world and gather commitments for environmentally sustainable AI -- although no binding mechanism is planned for now.
"There are lots of big principles emerging around responsible, trustworthy AI, but it's not clear or easy to implement for the engineers in technical terms," said Laure de Roucy-Rochegonde, director of the geopolitical technology center at the French Institute for International Relations.
El Salvador offers to jail US convicts in ‘unprecedented’ proposal
President Bukele's proposal includes imprisoning US criminals in El Salvador’s largest prison for a fee.
Rwandan-backed M23 rebels declare ceasefire in DRC
The M23 armed group said it will pause its advance across DR Congo for humanitarian reasons.
‘Criminalised for politics’: Rohingya caught in Delhi election crossfire
AAP and challenger BJP 'outdo' each other in attacking mainly Muslim refugees to consolidate votes in February 5 polls.
Ex-education minister facing Cardiff Uni lay off
Leighton Andrews speaks of his anger after the institution announced plans to slash hundreds of jobs.
China retaliates with tariffs on US goods after Trump’s move
China will impose tariffs of 15 percent on imports of coal and LNG from the US in retaliation for 10 percent levy.
OpenAI chief Altman inks deal with S Korea’s Kakao after DeepSeek upset
Partnership will allow South Korean tech firm to use ChatGPT for its artificial intelligence services.