FRANCE

ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

On the national level, France has made several steps in order to position itself as a leader in AI and to achieve digital strategic autonomy.

In early 2017, the French government started work towards building a national AI strategy: it convened public institutions, researchers, companies, and start-ups to help set the guidelines on AI for the country. This process resulted in a report called, ‘France Intelligence Artificielle’. Later that year, President Emmanuel Macron tasked mathematician and member of the French parliament Cédric Villani with examining European AI strategies and proposing elements for a French AI strategy. This work resulted in a report, ‘For a Meaningful Artificial Intelligence’, which was unveiled in March 2018. This is how France developed its national strategy titled, ‘AI for Humanity’, whose main objectives include:

• developing an aggressive data policy (to improve access to big data) 
• targeting four strategic sectors: healthcare, environment, transport, and defence
• boosting the potential of French research (and investing in talent)
• planning for the impact of AI on labour
• making AI more environmentally friendly 
• opening up the black boxes of AI
• ensuring that AI supports inclusivity and diversity

When Prime Minister Macron unveiled the French AI strategy, he also announced that he would invest €1.5 billion into AI research by the end of his term in 2022 in order to boost France’s AI capabilities. In 2019, France launched four interdisciplinary AI institutes, with an overall budget of €225 million to contribute to the development of the country’s potential in AI: MIAI@Grenoble-Alpes (focused on AI applications in health, the environment, and energy), 3IA Côte d’Azur in Nice (focused on health and the development of the territories), PRAIRIE institute in Paris (focused on health, transport, and the environment), and ANITI in Toulouse (focused on transport, the environment, and health).

In an effort to ensure that the French AI strategy is in line with ethical principles, France’s National Commission for Information Technology and Liberties (CNIL) was tasked with organising an ethical debate on AI. The resulting report – ‘How Can Humans Keep the Upper Hand? The ethical matters raised by algorithms and artificial intelligence’ – highlights two founding principles for AI to serve humans: a principle of loyalty, and a principle of continued attention and vigilance, meaning that all stakeholders involved in algorithmic chains need to be alert about the potential unforeseen consequences.

In a Strategic Review of Defence and National Security Key Points published in 2017, the Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affairs emphasised that disruptive technologies such as AI and robotics give rise to both vulnerabilities and opportunities for how society, the government, and its armed forces operate. It also outlined the need for France to consolidate its strategic autonomy and digital sovereignty.

Besides fostering the development and deployment of AI technologies for civilian use, France is also allocating funds to military and defence-related AI projects. For instance, the Ministry of Armed Forces intends to increase the annual spending on AI to €100 million, as part of an innovation drive to develop future weapons systems. A report published in September 2019 by an AI Task Force for the Ministry of Armed Forces, explores the role of AI in defence and recommends, among other things, that France develop a roadmap for the responsible and controlled integration of AI within the armed forces. The country is also encouraged to develop international cooperation to promote its strategic position and influence the development of technical standards and regulations on the export of AI technologies.

France committed to not developing fully autonomous weapons systems, noting that it will only develop defence AI according to the following principles: respecting international law, maintaining sufficient human control, and ensuring the permanent responsibility of the chain of command. The country advocates for these principles within the Group of Governmental Experts on emerging technologies in the field of lethal autonomous weapons systems (GGE on LAWS).

AI also features in the country’s International Digital Strategy, in particular with regard to France’s efforts to promote international dialogue on cooperation on AI-related issues in settings such as G20, G7, and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

BLOCKCHAIN

France has been openly supporting blockchain and cryptocurrencies since 2016. In 2017, France regulated the use of blockchain for the exchange of securities. France Strategie, a commission that reports to the office of the French prime minister, launched a working group on blockchain in 2017. The working group researched blockchain applications, explored the benefits (and costs) of public-sector applications, and proposed how the French government can support its development. The results of the working group’s efforts were published in the report, ‘Challenges of Blockchain’ in June 2018.

In relation to cryptocurrencies, France has adopted a PACTE bill that will set a new regulatory regime applicable to initial coin offerings (for utility tokens only) and to several categories of crypto-asset service providers.

France’s position on digital currencies is that such instruments could be useful, but they should only be issued by central banks (and not private actors), as a way to protect financial and monetary stability.

With designating blockchain as a priority and finetuning its legal framework, as well as investing about €5 billion in tech innovations, including blockchain, France has set itself up to be on the forefront of blockchain technology.

AUGMENTED/VIRTUAL REALITY

With a couple of decades of virtual reality (VR) activity, Paris and Laval are the pioneer hubs that stand out as centres of excellence in the French and European VR landscape. Industrial VR applications are dominant in France, varying from 3D modelling and industrial design, to highly specialised training applications.

The main governmental bodies to fund VR companies and research are Les pôles de Compétitivité and the French National Research Agency (ANR). In addition, the Centre National de Cinema (CNC) provides funding for AR and VR producers to co-produce content with local teams, offering grants that cover both development and production. The CNC also has the authority to award a tax rebate of up to 30 % of qualifying expenditures to projects wholly or partly made in France and initiated by non-French companies. France also invests heavily in the use of VR in education.

The strong VR sector also presents advantages for strengthening French military capabilities with advanced VR training, as well as the use of VR in collaborative combat platforms.

QUANTUM COMPUTING

In January 2020, a parliamentary report was presented in the French parliament on ‘Quantum: the technological turn that France will not miss’, calling for an investment of €1.4 billion over five years from sources including the public sector, private sector, local governments, and the EU. Key elements of the plan include:

• deployment of a state-of-the-art quantum computing infrastructure for research and industry
• launching an ambitious technological development programme
• setting up a support programme for the development and use of quantum computers
• creating an effective innovation environment
• deployment of an appropriate economic security strategy
• establishing effective governance

The programme also envisions the creation of 20 exploratory projects with annual budgets of up to €10 million per year, the establishment of three centres of excellence, the launch of 50 quantum start-ups by 2024, and the establishment of a late stage investment fund of €300 to 500 million.

The government has set-up a task force to prepare a detailed roadmap for responding to the report’s six recommendations. The roadmap should be ready in the first quarter of 2020 and  is expected to include five-year plans for quantum computing research, and identify funding sources for a quantum plan.

5G

The French Government adopted the national broadband plan – France Très Haut Débit – in 2013 (updated 2015), committing to covering its entire territory with high-speed broadband by 2022. The key actor in the state level broadband development is the Ministry of Economy and Finance, Action, and Public Accounts. French officials expect that the national strategy will require mobilisation of private and public investments of up to EUR 20 billion. The Fund for the Digital Society (Fonds pour la société numérique) provides a combination of public loans and funding to support the roll-out of ultra-fast broadband by the French government.

In June 2019, the French government confirmed the roll-out of 5G, stating that telecom operators would have to seek formal permission from the French prime minister for their 5G network projects, and will need to get clearance based on defence and national security parameters. In December 2019, France launched a procedure for assigning 5G frequency licenses after it approved specifications proposed by the communications regulator and the financial conditions for the licenses.

According to Junior Economy Minister Agnes Pannier-Runacher, ‘These 5G coverage commitments are much more ambitious than in other European countries and will in future constitute a strong element of our country’s competitiveness.’