Ethics as a Competitive Advantage: AI Ethics in France

The recent establishment of France's National Consultative Committee on Digital Ethics through Executive Order (“Décret 2024-463 of May 23, 2024 portant creation du Comité Consultatif National d’Ethique du Numérique) is a significant step in the French debate on digital ethics with potential impacts on AI governance. Given the rapid integration of digital applications, including AI systems, into all aspects of our lives and the proliferation of disparate regulations, the committee's role is particularly intriguing from the current US approach to AI governance. This raises critical questions: Why did France opt for this institutional approach? How does it align with broader French and European digital policies and institutional landscapes? What is the committee's expected mandate and anticipated impact on crucial issues like the metaverse, digital health, healthcare clinical research, generative AI, facial recognition, or digital democracy?

Welcoming Dr. Claude Kirchner, the Director of the national pilot committee on digital ethics that prefigured this newly introduced but not already active committee. He would provide valuable insights into the benefits and challenges of perceiving Ethics as a competitive advantage in digital innovation and especially in AI systems.

France-Atlanta is an annual series of high-caliber events, centered on innovation and designed to foster transatlantic cooperation and exchange in the fields of science, business, culture and global issues. This year, 2024, marks France-Atlanta’s 15th edition.The event series is co-organized by the Consulate General of France in Atlanta and the Georgia Institute of Technology, under the high auspices of the Ambassador of France to the United States, the Governor of Georgia and the Mayor of Atlanta.

Host or Publisher Emory University Center for Ethics