Macron Rejects US Claims, Calls For Child-Safe AI At Global Summit

France President Emmanuel Macron has pushed back against criticism from the United States over Europe’s regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), vowing to prioritise child protection during France’s presidency of the G7.

Speaking at the AI Impact Summit in Delhi, India, Macron rejected claims that Europe’s approach stifles innovation, insisting that regulation and technological progress can go hand in hand. “Opposite to what some misinformed friends have been saying, Europe is not blindly focused on regulation,” he said. “Europe is a space for innovation and investment, but it is a safe space — and safe spaces win in the long run.”

His comments came amid global outrage after Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot was reportedly used to generate tens of thousands of sexualised images of children, intensifying scrutiny of AI safeguards and the growing dominance of a small group of technology companies.

The French president called for stronger protections against what he described as “digital abuse”, arguing that children should not be exposed online to content that is illegal offline. “There is no reason our children should be exposed online to what is legally forbidden in the real world,” Macron said, adding that France was moving to ban social media access for children under 15.

UN secretary-general, António Guterres, echoed the concern, telling delegates — including several US tech billionaires — that “no child should be a test subject for unregulated AI.” He warned that the future of AI “cannot be decided by a few countries or left to the whims of a few billionaires.”

Tensions between Washington and European policymakers were also evident. The White House’s senior AI adviser, Sriram Krishnan, criticised the European Union’s AI Act, saying he would continue to “rant” against legislation that he believed was not conducive to entrepreneurs seeking to build innovative technologies.

The summit was attended by leading figures from the tech sector, including Sam Altman, whose company is facing legal action from the family of a 16-year-old who died by suicide after discussing self-harm with ChatGPT. Dario Amodei, co-chief executive of Anthropic, voiced concerns about the autonomous behaviour of advanced AI systems, their potential misuse and the risk of economic disruption.

The debate in Delhi reflects mounting global concern over the societal risks of AI, particularly as its most advanced tools remain concentrated among a small number of US and Chinese firms.