PARIS (AP) \u2014 JD Vance is stepping onto the world stage for the first time as U.S. vice president this week, using a high-profile artificial intelligence summit in France and a gathering of national security leaders in Germany to showcase Donald Trump\u2019s more assertive approach to diplomacy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The 40-year-old vice president, who was just 18 months into his tenure as a senator before joining Trump\u2019s ticket<\/a>, is expected, while in Paris, to push back on European efforts to tighten AI oversight while advocating for a more open, innovation-driven approach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The AI summit<\/a> has drawn world leaders, top tech executives, and policymakers to discuss artificial intelligence\u2019s impact on global security, economics, and governance. High-profile attendees also include Chinese Vice Premier Zhang Guoqing, signaling Beijing\u2019s deep interest in shaping global AI standards.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The event highlights efforts by France and the European Union to position themselves as leading forces in the AI race, emphasizing innovation and investment while seeking to ensure the technology\u2019s safe development. Meanwhile, the Trump administration has prioritized business-friendly policies and technological dominance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance\u2019s trip extends beyond Paris. Later this week, he will travel to Germany for the Munich Security Conference, where he has said he plans to push European allies to step up their commitments to NATO and Ukraine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The summit will give some European leaders an introduction to Vance, who is making his first major overseas trip since taking office. He has signaled he will use the summit as a venue for candid discussions on AI policy and broader geopolitical issues.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cAt the AI Summit, the main reason I\u2019m going is actually to have some private conversations with the world leaders who are also going to be there,\u201d Vance told Breitbart News. \u201cI think there\u2019s a lot that some of the leaders who are present at the AI summit could do to, frankly \u2014 bring the Russia-Ukraine conflict to a close, help us diplomatically there \u2014 and so we\u2019re going to be focused on those meetings in France.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance is expected to meet separately on Tuesday on the sidelines of the summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, according to a person familiar with planning who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the yet to be formally announced bilateral meetings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance was joined by his wife Usha and their three children \u2014 Ewan, Vivek and Mirabel \u2014 for the trip to Europe. They were greeted in France on Monday morning by Manuel Valls, the minister for Overseas France, and the U.S. Embassy\u2019s charge d\u2019affaires, David McCawley.<\/p>\n\n\n\n On Tuesday, Vance will have a working lunch with French President Emmanuel Macron, with discussions on Ukraine and the Middle East on the agenda. Vance, like the U.S. president, has questioned U.S. spending on Ukraine and the broader approach to isolating Russian President Vladimir Putin<\/a>. Trump promised to end the fighting<\/a> within six months of taking office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance also addressed what he views as a concerning trend in Europe regarding free speech, a topic he raised last year at the Munich Security Conference.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cUnfortunately, you\u2019ve seen in Europe a really significant, and I think, frankly, an evil trend towards censorship,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd you hear a lot about America\u2019s moral leadership. One of the things that America\u2019s moral leadership is going to be about during President Trump\u2019s term is free speech. We want people to be able to speak their minds, and we believe that free and open debate is actually a good thing. Unfortunately, a lot of our European friends have gone the wrong direction there.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Vance is attending Munich again, where he may meet with<\/a> Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy<\/a>. He plans to revisit themes he raised last year, including \u201cto hit on\u201d the need for NATO allies to take on a greater share of responsibility.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Leaders in Europe have been carefully watching<\/a> Trump\u2019s recent statements on threats to impose tariffs on the European Union, take control of Greenland and his suggestion that Palestinians clear out of Gaza<\/a> once the fighting in the Israel-Hamas conflict ends \u2014 an idea that\u2019s been flatly rejected by Arab allies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The summit, which gathers major players such as Google, Microsoft and OpenAI, aims at fostering AI advances in sectors like health, education, environment and culture.<\/p>\n\n\n\n A global public-private partnership named \u201cCurrent AI\u201d will be launched to support large-scale initiatives that serve the general interest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Paris summit \u201cis the first time we\u2019ll have had such a broad international discussion in one place on the future of AI,\u201d said Linda Griffin, vice president of public policy at Mozilla. \u201cI see it as a norm-setting moment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nick Reiners, senior geotechnology analyst at Eurasia Group, noted an opportunity to shape AI governance in a new direction by \u201cmoving away from this concentration of power amongst a handful of private actors and building this public interest AI instead.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n However, it remains unclear if the United States will support such initiatives.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThere\u2019s a lot of complicated questions to resolve\u201d around issues like the ability to control AI systems, Nobel Prize winner Demis Hassabis, founder of Google\u2019s DeepMind research lab, said. \u201cBut also I think even more complicated are maybe the geopolitical questions about things like regulation.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n French organizers are also looking for the summit to ignite major investment announcements in Europe, positioning the region as a viable contender in an industry increasingly shaped by a growing U.S.-China rivalry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n France plans to announce AI private investments worth a total of 109 billion euros ($113 billion) over the coming years, Macron said, presenting it as \u201cthe equivalent\u201d of Trump\u2019s Stargate AI data centers project.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n On the eve of the AI Summit, Macron posted a series of \u2018deepfake\u2019 videos of himself on Instagram, using artificial intelligence to manipulate his voice and image in various parodies\u2014an effort he said was meant to spark debate on AI\u2019s potential and risks.<\/p>\n\n\n\nVance\u2019s debut abroad<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Fostering AI advances<\/h2>\n\n\n\n