JD Vance attended a major AI summit overseas this week, the new Vice President’s first appearance on the world stage.
Vance is expected to offer a counterweight to European efforts to clamp down on artificial intelligence oversight, pushing instead for a more relaxed and innovation-focused approach to regulation.
Other world leaders, executives from major tech firms, and policymakers join Vance in Paris. Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing is among the guests, a likely sign of Beijing’s desire to help mold global AI standards.
Last month, China-based AI startup DeekSeek rocked Silicon Valley by releasing a powerful AI model purportedly developed at a fraction of the cost of comparable American-developed solutions. The impressive release surprised many who did not expect China to be so advanced.
On Monday, French President Emmanuel Macron called the Paris AI summit a “wakeup call” for Europe, which he says lags behind China and the United States regarding AI development. Macron also called for rules in France and the European Union to be “simplified” to help support AI advances and “resynchronize with the rest of the world,” per AP.
More than just AI, Vance said he would use the summit to engage with leaders on geopolitical issues.
“I think there’s a lot that some of the leaders who are present at the AI summit could do to, frankly — bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close, help us diplomatically there — and so we’re going to be focused on those meetings in France,” Vance told Breitbart News.
While in Paris, Vance is expected to meet with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the summit’s co-host, and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen. He will also meet with Macron to discuss Ukraine and the Middle East, among other subjects.
Vance will head to Germany next, attending the Munich Security Conference. The VP will reportedly focus on rallying additional NATO support among European allies. He may also meet with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.
Vance was also vocal about what he says is Europe’s “evil trend” toward censorship.
“We want people to be able to speak their minds, and we believe that free and open debate is actually a good thing. Unfortunately, a lot of our European friends have gone the wrong direction there,” he said.