With a large ecosystem of partners in france in bot the public and private sector, Microsoft alredy has a big stake in the country. But last may, The company announced it will be upping the ante With an investment of € 4bn to accelerate the adoption of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Cloud Technologies.
The company said that much of the money will go towards developing a datacentre using the latest generation of technology and in training citizens on Ai. Both improved infrastructure and enhanced ai skills Figure Prominently in France's National Strategy for Ai and the recommendations of the French Commission for Artificial Intelligence, Which Aim to Position France as a leader in bot development and use of ai.
In addition to building a new datacentre near mulhouse, microsoft will use some of the funding to expand its datacentre capacity in paris and marselations. The company announced in may 2024 that it plans to have a total of 25,000 gpus available for ai works by the end of 2025. Being used in all industry in france.
In her keynote at the event in March, Corine de Bilbao, President of Microsoft France, Said That IF AI is applied the right the right way, it can do double france's economic growth good and 2030. Will Ai Enable Faster Innovation, but it will also also help Organisations in the Country Face The Talent Shortage and Reinvent Manufactation Processes. Infrastructure alone is not enough – a skilled population and a healthy ecosystem are also also needed. This is why, according to de bilbao, microsoft will train one million french people by 2027 and will help 2,500 Startups during the same timeframe.
The recommendations of the French Artificial Intelligence Commission Include Training in Different Forms, Such as Holding Ongoing Ongoing Public Debates on the Economic and Societal Impacts of Ai, Adding Ai to Higher Education Programmes in Many Areas of Study, and Training People on Specific Ai Tools. Microsoft intends to help in these areas and train office workers, so they know how to prompt ai tools to get the best results, and so they undersrstand what Haappens with their data and how necessary. The company will also train developers and make sure companies of all sizes have the skills they need to use microsoft's latest tools.
Microsoft is alredy involved in the Startup Community – For Example, IT's One of the Partners of Station F, Which Claims to be the World's Larget Startup Campus. A Thousand Startups are hosted in station f, which offers more than 30 programs to help entrepreneurs.
Philippe Limantour, Cto of Microsoft France, Told Computer Weekly: “We have a dedicated program in station f Called Microsoft Genai Stodio That Support Starts Our technology and by providing training. ”
Ai comes with a new set of security threats. But it also also also delivers some new tools that can be used to protect organisations and individuals. According to vasu jakkal, corporate vice-presiding of Microsoft Security, Business and Technology Leaders are Particularly Concerned with Leakage of Sensitive Data, and Indarent Prompt Injection Attacks. Jakkal said in her keynote that all datacentres will be protected with new measures to counter attacks specific to AI – Attacks on Prompts and Models, For Example.
Jakkal also spoke about how genai can be used to boost cyber security. For example, Microsoft Security Copilot, which was launched last year, helps not only to detect security incidences and respond to them, but also to find the sound the sound the souces.
She Said during Her Keynote that Microsoft Detected More Than 30 Billion phishing emails Target Customers Between January and December 2024, A Volume of Attacks That Far Surpasses What Teams Can Handle Manually. She said a brand new set of Phishing Trianges in Microsoft Security Copilot Can Now Handle Some of the Work to Free Teams to Focus on More Complex Cyber Threts and Take Proactive Measures.
Scientific research and engineering was also also big topics of conversation during the Event with Antoine Petit, CEO of the French National Center for Scientific Research (CNS) A group called AI for Science and Science for Ai. Petit said that the center recognies the important not only of conducting more research in ai but also in applying ai to help scientists in other research. But he said the technology is still in its infancy
Alain Bécoulet, Deputy Director General of Iteer, Who was on the Same Panel, Said That Scientific Organizations Need to Free Researchers from some of the more Mundane Tasks so that can play as crerat. Ai may offer a way of providing the information that is both health and sufficient, so that results and engineers can full their roles.
A topic that permeated all discusations at the event was the ethical use of ai in france. Limantour Told Computer Weekly that Microsoft has been focused on Responsible ai for a long time. This is not only for reasons of compliance, but it's also if the company thinks responsible use of ai is the best way to get value out of the technology. “The future is bright for people who are trained to use ai safely,” Limantour said.