At the AI Action Summit in Paris, world leaders unveiled Current AI, a transformative initiative to drive AI transparency, access, and fairness.
 |
| Governments, philanthropies, and tech leaders launch Current AI, a $400M initiative to promote ethical and transparent AI development for public good. Image: Current AI |
Paris, France — February 12, 2025:
A new global initiative, Current AI, was officially launched today at the AI Action Summit in Paris, bringing together governments, philanthropies, and tech industry leaders to promote artificial intelligence that serves the public interest.
The partnership begins with an initial $400 million investment from the French government, AI Collaborative, and other key stakeholders, with a goal of raising $2.5 billion over the next five years. Major contributors include Google, the MacArthur Foundation, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation, and Salesforce.
Current AI aims to reshape the AI landscape by prioritizing transparency, accessibility, and ethical development. It will focus on expanding access to high-quality public and private datasets, investing in open-source tools and infrastructure, and developing systems to measure AI's social and environmental impact. The initiative will emphasize AI’s role in fields such as healthcare, linguistic diversity, science, trust and safety, and AI auditing, ensuring that the technology serves diverse global communities.
Ahead of the summit, 10 governments, including Chile, Finland, Germany, and Nigeria, pledged their commitment to supporting inclusive AI development that fosters both national innovation and international cooperation. The initiative has also received backing from 11 leading industry figures, including Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn), Clément Delangue (Hugging Face), Arthur Mensch (Mistral), Eleonore Crespo (Pigment), and Fidji Simo (Instacart), who signed an open letter in support of the partnership.
Martin Tisné, Founder of Current AI, emphasized the urgency of the initiative, stating that there is a critical window to shape the future of artificial intelligence. He stressed that AI has the power to transform access to jobs, healthcare, and education for the better, but only if action is taken now. He said Current AI will drive a shift toward open, people-first technologies and that by supporting innovation that benefits all, AI can truly serve the public good.
French President Emmanuel Macron praised the initiative, saying that Current AI has the potential to change the AI landscape. He highlighted that by providing access to data, infrastructure, and computing power to a wide range of partners, the initiative will contribute to developing AI ecosystems in France and Europe, diversifying the market, and fostering global innovation in a fair and transparent way.
Current AI’s efforts will focus on three key areas. The first is expanding access to high-value datasets in fields such as media, healthcare, and education. The second is promoting open standards and tools to ensure AI remains inclusive and adaptable. The third is establishing transparency and auditing frameworks to uphold public trust in AI systems.
To achieve these goals, the initiative will collaborate with donor groups, such as the AI for Development Funders Collaborative, to help create a more equitable AI ecosystem that benefits global communities. As artificial intelligence continues to evolve at a rapid pace, Current AI represents a major step toward ensuring the technology is used for the public good, fostering innovation that is transparent, inclusive, and ethical.