UPSC Prelims 2025 Q95: AI Action Summit Paris — Explained

Consider the following statements regarding AI Action Summit held in Grand Palais, Paris in February 2025:

I. Co-chaired with India, the event builds on the advances made at the Bletchley Park Summit held in 2023 and the Seoul Summit held in 2024.

II. Along with other countries, US and UK also signed the declaration on inclusive and sustainable AI.

Which of the statements given above is/are correct?

  1. I only
  2. II only
  3. Both I and II
  4. Neither I nor II

Answer: (a) I only

Statement-wise explanation

  • I: correct — France and India co-chaired the AI Action Summit on 10–11 February 2025. President Macron invited PM Modi to give the opening address as co-chair. The summit was the third in a series. It followed the AI Safety Summit at Bletchley Park, UK (November 2023) and the AI Seoul Summit (May 2024), and France described it as building on the momentum of those two summits.
  • II: incorrect — The summit's main outcome was the 'Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable Artificial Intelligence for People and the Planet'. About 60 countries signed it, including India, China, France, Germany, Japan and Canada, along with the European Union and the African Union Commission. The United States and the United Kingdom did not sign. US Vice President JD Vance warned that too much regulation could kill the AI industry. The UK said the text gave too little practical clarity on global governance and national security.

How to eliminate

Basic knowledge cannot settle this one. You need two facts. Statement I has two parts. India's co-chairing was widely reported because PM Modi travelled to Paris for it. The link to Bletchley Park (2023) and Seoul (2024) is simply the order of the summit series, so it reads as a safe, descriptive claim. Statement II has a tell: 'Along with other countries, US and UK also signed'. UPSC rarely asks whether two named major powers did something unless the headline story was that they did not. The US and UK refusal was the main news from Paris. If you remember only that 'the US and UK did not sign the Paris declaration', you can drop Statement II, and because you are confident about Statement I the answer follows. Fact to remember: Paris 2025 had France and India as co-chairs, and the US and UK stayed out of the declaration.

Know more

The global AI summit series

Since 2023, governments have held a rotating series of leaders' summits on artificial intelligence. The focus has moved from safety (frontier-model risks) to action and impact (inclusion, development, public-interest AI).

Summit Place and date Host(s) Key outcome
AI Safety Summit Bletchley Park, UK, Nov 2023 UK Bletchley Declaration, signed by 28 countries and the EU, including the US, China and India
AI Seoul Summit Seoul, May 2024 UK and Republic of Korea Seoul Declaration; voluntary safety commitments from AI firms
AI Action Summit Grand Palais, Paris, 10–11 Feb 2025 France, co-chaired with India Statement on Inclusive and Sustainable AI for People and the Planet; US and UK did not sign
AI Impact Summit Bharat Mandapam, New Delhi, Feb 2026 India New Delhi Declaration on AI Impact; first summit of the series in the Global South

Paris, in brief

  • A week of events: Science Days (6–7 Feb), a Cultural Weekend (8–9 Feb), then the leaders' segment (10–11 Feb).
  • Almost 100 countries took part, along with over a thousand representatives of the private sector and civil society.
  • The declaration's priorities: narrow digital divides; keep AI open, inclusive, transparent, ethical, safe and trustworthy; make AI sustainable for people and the planet.
  • The split: Washington argued against heavy regulation. London cited national-security and governance gaps. Both stayed out, while China signed.

India's role

  • PM Modi called for global governance and standards that uphold shared values, address risks and build trust. He said India is building its own large language models and will share its experience.
  • India offered to host the next summit. France welcomed this in the India–France Joint Statement, and the two countries also launched an India–France Roadmap on AI.
  • This led to the India AI Impact Summit in New Delhi in February 2026.

In the news

France and India co-chaired the Paris AI Action Summit in February 2025, three months before the 2025 Prelims. The US and UK refusal to sign its declaration was widely reported, and India announced it would host the next summit.

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