Paris:  Amid a massive global debate on AI risks, Thales Chairman and CEO Patrice Caine has said that stopping the use of artificial intelligence is not the solution, but keeping it firmly under human control is. Calling on tech companies to build in technical safeguards and on governments to put in place a "proper framework" which set boundaries on how such technologies can be used, Caine emphasised that the future impact and outcome of AI would ultimately depend on decisions made by humans.

He noted that artificial intelligence has not brought humanity to a stage of existential crisis just yet, but asserted that warnings about its catastrophic risks were important in raising awareness on the issue.

In an interview to PTI, Caine spoke on how AI is changing the nature of cyber attacks and cyber attackers, and the urgency for organisations to prepare for the post-quantum era. He also underscored the importance of humans ultimately retaining control over critical decisions.

Thales' top boss also called for an international framework or understanding on artificial intelligence, and said industry self-regulation in itself, while useful and "a good start", is a transitional step and will not be sufficient in the long run, as increasingly autonomous AI systems raise new safety and security concerns.

Notably "just a while ago, our cyber solutions blocked 2 million bot attacks per day. Now it's 25 million daily. So you see this sharp increase, and this is purely leveraging compute, of course, and AI at the same time," he said.

The global leader in advanced technologies for defence, aerospace, and cyber and digital sectors introduced its new AI-powered solutions to protect organisations and societies against emerging cybersecurity threats, at the Thales Cyber Summit 2026 last week.

AI is also of great help in countering AI-based cyber attacks. "...and we do leverage AI technologies in the 'detect and respond' world. So, to be able to detect as fast as AI attacks operate, we use AI, and to respond as well, to patch or to block or deter, we use AI technologies that are as fast as the AI-based cyber attacks," Caine said.

He said the issue that is clearly at stake for tech players and governments, is ensuring that people benefit from AI.

Caine noted that AI-enabled attacks that can act autonomously have already been seen, and described such instances as unfortunate and unintended.

The solution, he said, is not to stop using AI, but to ensure the technology remains under human control through technical safeguards. He also called for governments to establish frameworks setting clear boundaries on the use of AI, and compared this with the regulatory structures developed around nuclear energy. He said such frameworks should ensure that AI is used for beneficial purposes and prevent harmful applications.

"Of course, the question is not to stop using AI. It is how, on one side, tech companies, including us, put in place ways and means that, from a technical standpoint, we keep those technologies - AI but we could speak of biometrics as well, and other technologies - that we keep all these technologies under control, and the man has to stay in control," he said adding that Thales is committed towards the principles of human control in critical decision making.

At the same time, Caine batted for a "proper framework" that organises, sets boundaries, or limits of the use of these technologies, where necessary, saying "this is clearly a governmental responsibility".

"By the way, governments have started to discuss that, and it's not specific to AI. We've seen the same with nuclear physics and nuclear energy. Now, no one is surprised by having an international authority dealing with nuclear energy, national nuclear safety authority as well. All these things are absolutely normal. So we can have the same analogy for AI, the same type of framework that would guarantee each and every citizen that this technology will be used for good and not for bad," the Thales top executive said.

Having an international understanding, if not regulation, for AI, would be desirable and progressive, he said acknowledging that approaches may differ across countries based on their systems and discourse.

"Europe has already started to regulate use of data, to regulate data privacy and so on...other countries have as well started to follow the same journey. But if we want an efficient system on an international basis, we would need some kind of international, if not regulation, understanding of what we are allowed to do and what is strictly prohibited," he said.

Asked about the scientists and researchers flagging dystopian AI outcomes, and if, indeed, the world is staring at an AI-driven existential crisis, Caine said "not yet" but added in the same breath, that there is still a need to anticipate the risks, take the warnings seriously and start putting safeguards in place now.

"No, not yet. It's good to always anticipate. So again, I'm not criticising those claims at all. I would not have done the same, but still, those claims are important to raise awareness...still we have a bit of time. We should start now, but we have a bit of time to make sure that we protect ourselves from this type of technological progress (course)," he said.

He said warnings about catastrophic AI risks are key to raising awareness, but hoped they would not become a reality.

Asked about the biggest AI risk that governments and companies are currently underestimating, he said "no one knows", and highlighted that the outcome would depend entirely on how humans choose to develop and use the technology. Caine said a pause on AI development is a difficult question, but the rapid spread of digital technologies makes the need to address their risks, even more urgent.

For young people, he stressed that better education is the best way to prepare for future jobs and careers, including in the AI-driven economy. 

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