On the 10th of this month (local time), French President Emmanuel Macron shared a montage of AI parody videos featuring himself on social media. These videos were created to promote the 3rd International Artificial Intelligence (AI) Summit, which is set to take place over two days in Paris.
On the 9th, Macron posted a roughly one-minute video on his Instagram account. This video compiled fake clips created by netizens using AI, showing Macron transformed into the protagonist of past French comedy films, MacGyver, a DJ, a singer, and a hair influencer. At the end of these videos, the ‘real’ President Macron appeared and commented, “Quite well-made. Really funny.”
However, Macron added, “But more seriously, we can achieve great things through AI in healthcare, energy, and society,” emphasizing that “France and Europe must stand at the heart of this revolution, seize every opportunity, and uphold the principles we believe in.” He remarked, “This is precisely the goal of the upcoming AI summit in Paris.” The post received over 85,000 likes.
The summit will gather around 1,000 attendees, including world leaders, AI industry professionals, scholars, and NGO activists, to discuss the current state and future of AI technological advancements. France aims to leverage this event to boost the development and investment in European AI technology, positioning itself against the dominance of the US and China.