Macron Sets Out Three AI Safety Priorities, Warns of ‘Real Risks’ to Security

French President Emmanuel Macron said a gathering of government leaders, AI developers and researchers had agreed on three priorities for managing the risks posed by the most advanced artificial intelligence models. About 50 participants joined the discussions in Paris and online, including heads of state and government, leaders of major AI laboratories and other specialists.

“Artificial intelligence is advancing very quickly. As we have already seen, this poses real risks to our collective security,” Macron wrote on X. He said the work of developing the technology had to go hand in hand with anticipating and managing its risks.

Public Risk Assessments, Shared Alerts and Developer Accountability

Macron said participants committed to improving independent, public assessments of the risks posed by the most advanced AI models. They also agreed on the need to share alerts more effectively when a serious incident occurs and to hold the developers of those models accountable.

“There is a shared understanding of the situation. We must act together,” he wrote. Macron said France wanted AI to benefit a broad public and argued that safety depended on the people building and governing the technology acting together.

France Accuses Iran of Targeting 700 Retail Sites

Separately, France has accused Iran of carrying out a cyberattack on supermarket refrigeration networks in October and says it will push for European Union sanctions, CNN reported on Monday. The attack targeted about 700 retail locations, including sites operated by Intermarché, Coopérative U and E. Leclerc. CNN reported that the attackers deliberately caused commercial cooling units to defrost, spoiling food and causing equipment fires.

French Foreign Minister Jean-Noël Barrot called it an act of “unprecedented scale and unprecedented aggressiveness” and described it as the first large-scale act of cyber sabotage on French soil. He said the attack threatened France’s national interests and public security. Paris summoned Iran’s ambassador and is working with European partners on a response. Tehran had yet to issue an official response to the allegations at the time of the report.

Paris Investigators Focus on an IRGC-Linked Unit

The Paris prosecutor’s office opened an inquiry after investigators found digital traces they said pointed to Iran. These included the use of Farsi and IP addresses linked to devices located in the country, according to CNN. French judicial authorities are focusing on Shahid Kaveh, a cyber unit linked to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, including its chief, two deputies and other operatives.

Food retailers in Ireland, Belgium and Sweden experienced similar disruptions earlier in November. Investigators have yet to establish whether those incidents were linked to the French breach, CNN reported.

CNN also reported that US intelligence agencies had circulated confidential warnings after joint US and Israeli strikes on Iran earlier in the year. The alerts advised government departments and private companies to strengthen their defences against possible retaliatory cyberattacks from Iran.

With inputs from ANI