France's digital-affairs ambassador says international cooperation must shape the future of AI

French ambassador for Digital Affairs Clara Chappaz has called for global scientific collaboration to shape the future of artificial intelligence (AI), as "one country cannot do it alone".

She was speaking at the AI in Higher Education Summit hosted by ESCP Business School (France) on 17-18/03/2026. Chappaz said that AI was not only a technological transformation, but also a geopolitical one. "The way we train talents, develop research, govern data and deploy AI systems will shape the balance of power of the 21^st century," she said.

Chappaz said that higher education sat in the centre of this transformation, making cooperation between universities and research institutions across borders essential.

Digital sovereignty in the age of AI looks like "open cooperation combined with strong research capabilities", and not technological nationalism, she said.

For universities, which Chappaz described as "strategic infrastructure for knowledge production", she sees a crucial role: "Universities train engineers who will build tomorrow's AI system, produce the research that shapes global…