French President Emmanuel Macron announced the creation of an international “coalition” to develop coordinated measures to protect children in the digital environment and manage artificial intelligence, France24 reported. He made this statement on the sidelines of the AI Impact Summit forum in New Delhi (India).
As the French leader explained, the new structure will unite the efforts of the government and private companies to improve the safety of minors on the Internet, including improving the situation on social networks and ensuring the transparency of algorithms.
Macron clarified that during the French presidency of the G7 he will oversee the project and the work of the alliance, but in the future he expects cooperation with countries outside the G7.
According to the French President, his initiative has been supported by many European countries and Australia and he expressed hope that India will participate.
Macron announced that, in addition to child protection issues, the coalition also intends to address AI regulations. Among his priorities, he names introducing mandatory labeling for algorithmically generated content, ensuring multilingualism in training models, as well as finding ways to reduce the energy consumption of data centers.
The French President said that the European Union, as a safe space for innovation and investment, will shape the “rules of the game” in the field of artificial intelligence together with its allies and ensure the protection of children from illegal activities in the digital environment, combining advanced technological developments with reliable security guarantees.
According to him, Europe must play an important role in defining global standards for AI regulation.
An excerpt from the video version of Macron's speech in India was posted on social network X. In it, the French leader called freedom of expression “complete crap” if it loses its original meaning due to distortion under the influence of digital algorithms.
“No one knows how you are guided through this so-called freedom of expression, especially when you are moved from one hate speech to another,” the French president said.
Commenting on this statement, Federation Council member Konstantin Kosachev noted that under current conditions in Europe, the so-called right to freedom of expression has actually become “completely meaningless”.
