The recent AI Summit in Paris brought together industry leaders to discuss the implementation and ethical consideration of artificial intelligence in today's business and societal frameworks.
Rupal Karia, Vice President and Country Leader UK&I at Celonis, emphasised the importance of addressing the pressing challenges AI presents while balancing its societal transition with humanist values. "The AI Summit in Paris is a timely reminder for some of the most pressing challenges facing AI in today's landscape, from the acceleration of global AI adoption to managing its societal transition responsibly alongside humanist values. For businesses, this highlights the urgent need to establish the right frameworks and resources to harness AI's full potential while safeguarding ethical standards," said Karia.
Karia further highlighted the risks associated with unclear strategies for responsible AI development. "Without a clear strategy for responsible AI development, we risk deepening inequalities and missing opportunities for inclusive innovation. This underscores the critical role of Process Intelligence technology in ensuring AI delivers real, measurable value. AI is only as effective as the processes it enhances and without clear visibility, governance and optimisation, businesses risk inefficiencies, bias, and missed opportunities," she added.
James Hall, Vice President and Country Manager UK&I at Snowflake, noted the significance of high-quality, accessible data in training AI systems. "It's not surprising to see the Paris event has been named the AI Action Summit. This shows a commitment to creating more purposeful AI use cases, more action than discussion when it comes to safety, and the need to be genuinely practical," Hall commented. "In terms of practicality, it's vital to remember that AI systems are only as powerful as the data they're trained on, making high-quality, accessible data essential. Modern, scalable and secure data-sharing enables faster and more accurate AI insights that avoid hallucinations. Accurate AI helps create safer and more responsible AI, which will support its deployment across nations."
Ian Jeffs, UK&I Country General Manager at Lenovo Infrastructure Solutions Group, reflected on the summit's focus on AI principles and implementing frameworks that foster innovation. "The AI Action Summit is a pivotal moment for the industry, with a focus on driving consensus around AI principles and introducing frameworks that enable innovation," said Jeffs. "Lenovo's CIO Playbook found that appetite for AI continues to be high, with business leaders in EMEA reporting the highest levels of satisfaction with AI projects in the world and increasing their investments. For the Summit to be considered a success, it must help organisations to implement impactful AI solutions that drive workforce productivity and can clearly showcase ROI."
Damian Stirrett, Group Vice President and General Manager, UK and Ireland at ServiceNow, saw the summit as an opportunity to unite political leaders with businesses in realising AI's potential. "The AI Summit feels like a positive step – an opportunity to share knowledge, good experiences, and to understand how AI can most effectively be put to work for a better future. It is clear our political leaders understand both the scale of the opportunity and the need to partner with businesses to deliver it," Stirrett stated.
Stirrett pointed out the potential improvements AI can bring, particularly within the public sector. "The size of the AI prize is indeed remarkable. NHS waiting lists as an example present perhaps the most acute challenge, with ambitious targets to treat 65 percent of patients within 18 weeks by March 2026. Our doctors currently lose 13.5 million hours annually to outdated IT systems. Meanwhile, staff right across government handle countless routine queries that could be automated. But challenges need tangible action. From reskilling programmes for workers, visible reductions in operational costs, or creating new job opportunities for the AI era, these are just some of the benefits in the UK and globally that could be realised from a clear plan around AI guidance and innovation."
