Hon. Mark R. Kennedy, Director of the Wilson Center’s Wahba Institute for Strategic Competition
Speech delivered on February 11, 2025, at the Boston Global Forum’s “Government 24/7: How Al Might Best Transform Governance” event as part of the Al Action Summit in Paris, France
Download Speech here
February 11, 2025
The Boston Global Forum (BGF) is proud to announce that the recipient of the 2025 World Leader in AI World Society (AIWS) Award is Audrey Tang, Taiwan’s Cyber Ambassador-at-Large and 1st Digital Minister (2016-2024). This prestigious award recognizes Tang’s remarkable contributions to advancing AI governance, innovation, and ethical applications that promote societal progress.
To honor Audrey Tang, BGF will organize a special Award Ceremony on April 22, 2025, at Harvard University’s Loeb House. This event will celebrate Tang’s exceptional leadership in shaping AI policies and fostering an inclusive, responsible, and innovative AI-driven world.
Each year, the Boston Global Forum presents two esteemed awards:
The 2025 AIWS Award reflects BGF’s commitment to recognizing visionary leaders shaping the future of AI with responsibility, innovation, and ethical governance.
For more details on the award ceremony and Audrey Tang’s achievements, please visit BostonGlobalForum.org.
Media Contact:
Ramu Damodaran, BGF Executive Board Member
Email: Ramu_Damodaran@bostonglobalforum.org
Website: www.bostonglobalforum.org
This pivotal session at the AI Action Summit Paris 2025 will explore the transformative potential of AIWS Government 24/7, a pioneering model designed to modernize governance with AI-driven, seamless public services operating 24/7. It will also introduce the “Creating a New Paris of Enlightenment” program, positioning France as a beacon of the AI Age—excelling in AI technology, economy, governance, and society while reviving its historical brilliance with a New Paris of Enlightenment.
As a special tribute to President Emmanuel Macron and the people of France, “Creating A New Paris of Enlightenment” will position France as a global leader in the AI Age, reinforcing its commitment to technological advancement, ethical AI governance, and socio-economic progress.
Time: 15:30 – 17:00, February 11, 2025, Paris time.
Venue: Salle des Actes
ENS, Paris PSL, 45 Rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
Co-Chair and CEO of BGF Nguyen Anh Tuan and Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau at AI Action Summit
A federal judge paused the Trump administration’s efforts to drastically scale back the U.S. Agency for International Development, temporarily halting plans to put 2,200 employees on leave by midnight on Friday.
Shortly before those plans were set to take effect, U.S. District Judge Carl Nichols, a Trump appointee, issued a limited temporary restraining order blocking the government from putting USAID employees on leave and reinstating 500 staffers who had already been placed on administrative leave. The order also paused a directive recalling overseas USAID employees to the U.S.
The restraining order is in effect until next Friday, Feb. 14 at 11:59pm. Judge Nichols scheduled a hearing on Feb. 12.
A federal judge, citing a risk of “irreparable harm,” has temporarily restricted Elon Musk’s government efficiency team from accessing a critical Treasury Department payment system.
The judge’s order, issued early Saturday, temporarily halts access to a sensitive payment system that distributes Americans’ tax returns, Social Security benefits, disability payments and federal employees’ salaries.
US District Judge Paul Engelmayer ordered the destruction of any downloaded information from the payment system by anyone given access to it since January 20, citing “the risk that the new policy presents of the disclosure of sensitive and confidential information and the heightened risk that the systems in question will be more vulnerable than before to hacking.”
https://edition.cnn.com/2025/02/08/politics/elon-musk-doge-treasury-payment-system/index.html
https://www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2025/02/07/g-s1-47224/usaid-freeze-judge-trump
Paris, February 10, 2025 – Nguyen Anh Tuan, Co-founder, Co-chair, and CEO of the Boston Global Forum (BGF), will deliver a special tribute to President Emmanuel Macron and the people of France at the AI Action Summit Paris 2025. The tribute, under the theme “Creating a New Paris of Enlightenment,” will celebrate France’s leadership in AI innovation and governance.
This initiative, spearheaded by BGF and the Enlightenment in Action Alliance (EAA), supports France’s implementation of Government 24/7, an AI-driven governance model that ensures seamless and efficient public services. It also aims to position France as a global leader in ethical AI development and a driving force in shaping the AI-powered future.
The summit will feature distinguished speakers presenting strategic AI-driven innovations and policies, including:
The Enlightenment in Action Alliance (EAA), composed of outstanding students from top universities worldwide, will present its contributions to “Creating a New Paris of Enlightenment”, which include:
This tribute marks a historic milestone in global AI cooperation, cementing France’s leadership in the AI Age and its pivotal role in shaping the future of AI-driven governance and innovation. Through the collaborative efforts of BGF and EAA, the summit will emphasize the importance of ethical AI governance, innovative public service solutions, and France’s vision for a more inclusive and sustainable AI-driven world.
On February 3, 2025, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Intel Corporation (Intel) to strengthen their collaboration for the industrialization of quantum technology.
Through this partnership, AIST’s Quantum-AI Fusion Technology Business Development Global Research Center (G-QuAT) will integrate its evaluation testbed and device manufacturing capabilities with Intel’s cutting-edge semiconductor processes.
The goal is to realize a system with tens of thousands of qubits at an industrially viable level by the early 2030s. Specifically, the collaboration will focus on evaluating and optimizing materials and components essential for silicon quantum computer systems, developing implementation technologies, advancing refrigeration technology for large-scale quantum computers, integrating qubits, and developing cryogenic electronics for qubit control.
President Donald J. Trump and Prime Minister Ishiba Shigeru held their first official meeting Feb 7, 2025 in Washington, D.C., where they affirmed their determination to pursue a new golden age for U.S.-Japan relations that upholds a free and open Indo-Pacific and brings peace and prosperity to a violent and disorderly world.
U.S.-Japan Coordination in the Indo-Pacific
The two leaders shared views on the severe and complex security environment and expressed their determination to continuously cooperate to realize a free and open Indo-Pacific. As part of such cooperation, the two leaders intend to advance multilayered and aligned cooperation among like-minded countries, including Japan-Australia-India-U.S. (Quad), Japan-U.S.-Republic of Korea (ROK), Japan-U.S.-Australia, and Japan-U.S.-Philippines. Through these relationships, the United States, Japan, and like-minded partners can deliver high quality infrastructure investments in the region, including the deployment of Open Radio Access Networks in third countries.
The two leaders reiterated their strong opposition to any attempts by the People’s Republic of China (PRC) to change the status quo by force or coercion in the East China Sea. The two leaders reaffirmed their strong opposition to the PRC’s unlawful maritime claims, militarization of reclaimed features, and threatening and provocative activities in the South China Sea.
https://www.whitehouse.gov/briefings-statements/2025/02/united-states-japan-joint-leaders-statement/
The Boston Global Forum is pleased to welcome and thank the Enlightenment in Action Alliance (EAA) delegates for attending the AI Action Summit event, including:
| Dang Nguyen | Harvard University |
| Simar Bajaj | University of Oxford |
| Cameron Tice | University of Cambridge |
| Srihitha Dasari | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| Sacha Alanoca | Stanford University |
| Sarosh Nagar | University College London |
| Cameron Sabet | Georgetown University |
| Minh Pham | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Tuan Bao Vinh | Emory University |
| Luigi De Angelis | Harvard University |
| Jason Zhao | University of Pennsylvania |
| Abhishek Das | Johns Hopkins University |
| Ketan Tamirisa | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Peyman Owrang | American University |
| Sammer Marzouk | Northwestern University |
| Rithwik Sudharsan | University of California, Berkeley |
| Jennifer Wang | Brown University |
| Sumanth Ratna | Yale University |
| Jason Shin | Stanford University |
| Berke Altiparmak | Harvard University |
| Urvish Jain | University of Pittsburgh |
and outstanding students for their contributions to Creating a New Paris of Enlightenment, including:
| Dang Nguyen | Harvard University |
| Cameron Tice | University of Cambridge |
| Sarosh Nagar | University College London |
| Cameron Sabet | Georgetown University |
| Minh Pham | University of California, Los Angeles |
| Tuan Bao Vinh | Emory University |
| Luigi De Angelis | Harvard University |
| Jason Zhao | University of Pennsylvania |
| Abhishek Das | Johns Hopkins University |
| Ketan Tamirisa | Washington University in St. Louis |
| Sumanth Ratna | Yale University |
| Jason Shin | Stanford University |
| Berke Altiparmak | Harvard University |
| Sammer Marzouk | Northwestern University |
📅 Date & Time: February 11, 2025 | 3:30 PM – 5:00 PM, Paris time
📍 Venue: ENS, Paris PSL, 45 Rue d’Ulm, 75005 Paris, France
🎤 Organizer: Boston Global Forum
This pivotal session at the AI Action Summit Paris 2025 will explore the transformative potential of AIWS Government 24/7, a pioneering model designed to modernize governance with AI-driven, seamless public services operating 24/7. It will also introduce the “Creating a New Paris of Enlightenment” program, positioning France as a beacon of the AI Age—excelling in AI technology, economy, governance, and society while reviving its historical brilliance with a New Paris of Enlightenment.
Keynotes:
As a special tribute to President Emmanuel Macron and the people of France, this event will highlight how AI can revolutionize governance, strengthen digital democracy, and position France as a global leader in the AI Age. Thought leaders, policymakers, and innovators will convene to discuss AI-driven governance reforms that optimize government effectiveness and societal well-being.
https://www.ai-inthecity.ens.psl.eu/en/programme
