Henri Verdier is currently Director General of the Inria Foundation, a division of the Inria Group, the leading European research institution in digital science and technology. He previously served as France’s Ambassador for Digital Affairs from 2018 to 2025, representing the country on global tech and Internet governance issues. He has also served as Director of the French Government’s digital and IT systems (DINSIC). A graduate of the École Normale Supérieure, he played a key role in France’s open data movement as head of Etalab, where he launched the landmark platform data.gouv.fr. He is also a serial entrepreneur.
Henri Verdier, Director General at Inria Foundation calls for a democratic response to AI, which can only be developed through close multi-stakeholder dialogue involving governments, civil society, researchers and businesses.
The internet has opened up new ways of thinking and empowering civil society to monitor governments, uncover corruption, overthrow dictators, and even strengthen democracy.
