Macron urges 'taking back control' from AI, social media

French President Emmanuel Macron on Monday opened the Lumiere Summit in southeastern France with a call for "taking back control" of artificial intelligence and social media platforms, warning that the "attention economy" poses fundamental risks to human creativity and democratic values.

'Attention economy' risks

Addressing government officials and cultural industry representatives in Saint-Paul-de-Vence, Macron said the efforts of digital platforms to capture users' attention marked a "genuine change of era" for cultural creation and distribution. "We have never looked at screens so much, and yet, by trying to watch everything, we risk ending up seeing nothing," he told delegates. He argued that constant streams of short-form content are designed to hold attention for seconds rather than to "surprise, move or make people think."

Impact on youth and creative work

Macron highlighted the effects of the attention economy on children and adolescents, particularly regarding sleep patterns and learning capabilities, noting that these phenomena also challenge democratic institutions. While acknowledging AI's potential to reduce production costs and assist creative work, he warned against using the technology to replace writers, artists and voice professionals. AI "can imitate what creation is," but cannot reproduce the "absolute uniqueness" of human creativity, he said, calling for stronger copyright and intellectual property protections and greater transparency to distinguish AI-generated material from human-made content.

New cultural initiatives

Macron announced four initiatives covering the preservation of global cinema heritage, media literacy, support for independent movie theaters and the establishment of an international video game festival. France, South Korea and Nigeria will lead the media literacy partnership with support from UNESCO, while the Lumiere Partnership will see France and South Korea jointly allocate €1 billion over five years to support image-related industries. "Taking back control means reclaiming attention, putting the work before the flow, and protecting those who create," Macron said, urging other nations to join the effort.

The Lumiere Partnership will allocate the €1 billion investment through 2029, with implementation details expected to be finalized during bilateral cultural ministerial talks scheduled for early June. The media literacy initiative with Nigeria and UNESCO is expected to launch pilot programs in the fall, targeting schools in both European and African nations.