Cédric O, close to President Macron and the former Secretary of State for Digital Affairs, announced before the last presidential election his intention to withdraw from political life. The former leader has since taken the private path.
Faithful to a certain French tradition, the former minister has not, however, completely withdrawn from the spheres of power. On the contrary, he knows how to use his influence. And he exercises this particularly in the field of artificial intelligence. France must soon revise its national strategy in this sector.
A lobbyist at the Elysée and in Brussels
And she will be able to count on Cédric O. Prime Minister Elisabeth Borne has set up a committee of 15 experts to advise the government on its new directions. Its members have 6 months to make “concrete” proposals.
These must “contribute to informing Government decisions and making France a country at the forefront of the artificial intelligence revolution.” These proposals will therefore come from Cédric O in particular, as well as Luc Julia, Gilles Babinet, Joëlle Barral (Google), Yann Le Cun (Meta).
Arthur Mensch, co-founder and CEO of Mistral AI, is also among them. Cédric O knows the startup and its managers well, for whom he works as a lobbyist. The almost retired politician can exercise this function in the committee as well as in Brussels.
Mistral, like other companies and executives, many of whom sit on the government’s generative AI committee, are working to influence Europe’s direction on the regulation of artificial intelligence.
France against the AI Act
Arthur Mensch’s opposition to the current version of the AI Act is no mystery. The leader explained this very recently in a long message published on Twitter. For him, the regulation is on the wrong track and risks penalizing emerging players.
The messages relayed by Cédric O were heard at the top of the State – or even anticipated? AI is an area of influence for the former Secretary of State who recently became a member of the board of Artefact, a renowned AI consultancy firm.
When it comes to AI regulation, France’s position is clear: derail the AI Act in its current version. Allied with Germany and Italy, France is putting pressure on the European level and proposing an alternative.
The three countries had already stated their opposition to what they describe as unnecessary bureaucracy. They have now reached an agreement on how to regulate AI in Europe. And their approach includes not regulating AI itself, but rather its application.
Regulate uses not models
The AI Act would thus spare foundation models, which is also defended, among others, by Arthur Mensch and Cédric O. “We cannot regulate an engine without uses. We do not regulate the C language because it can be used to develop malware,” explains the first.
For France, opposition to the European text is necessary to protect national startups. To this end, large AI models should not be penalized if their use is not risky. The trio’s line is, however, denounced, and accused of playing into the hands of tech lobbying, reports Le Monde.
At the forefront of AI, Cédric O would have seen himself also involved in the future of another leading French player: Atos. Some of its activities are for sale. For the Minister of the Economy, Bruno Le Maire, the most strategic ones must remain under the French flag.
However, the government will not be able to count on the internal support of Cédric O. The digital specialist nevertheless hoped to integrate Atos as an administrator. The High Authority for Transparency in Public Life (HATVP) said no. This opinion was then confirmed by the Council of State. Reason: to prevent conflicts of interest.