Welcome to Café Ai

‘Incredibly human for a subject so artificial’ – participant

Café AI is a public movement which aims to promote a shared, accessible, and democratic culture around artificial intelligence and digital technologies. Our mission is to empower individuals to make informed and conscious decisions about their individual and collective uses of AI and digital technologies, whether they choose to adopt them, adapt them, or limit their presence in their lives.

Inspired by the familiar format of a café conversation, a Café AI is above all a space for discussion, where individuals can learn, experiment, and debate as part of a shared digital culture. Café AI was born from the desire to democratise discussions of digital technologies and artificial intelligence: to place citizens at the heart of conversations about digital affairs. At its heart a discussion space, we aim to bring people together and to enable them to share their experiences, debate current issues and explore. 

Launched nationwide in 2024 on the request of President Macron by the French National Digital Council (Conseil national du numérique), which became the French Digital and AI Council (Conseil de l’IA et du numérique) in 2025, the movement is led in France today by an independent state project, the Mission Café AI (Mission Café IA), hosted by the Directorate General of Enterprises (Direction générale des entreprises) of the Ministry of the Economy and Finance (Ministère de l’économie et des finances).

With a growing network of more than 800 hosts, approximately 5 Cafés are held every day. Café AI reached more than 50,000 individuals across France and in Europe in its first year of existence. In France, Café AI aims to reach 2 million citizens by the end of 2027.

As AI and digital technologies are increasingly present in the modern world, affecting our work, education, public services, and daily lives, Café AI aims to ensure that everyone – not just specialists – can participate actively with an understanding of its challenges, opportunities, and limitations. The initiative is rooted in the belief that AI should not remain a technical “black box”, but instead become a subject of collective reflection, debate, and informed choice – following the model of open-source software development.

Café AI is a horizontal and decentralised movement which is open to all. All Cafés are free for participants and everyone is welcome regardless of prior understanding or involvement in the field. Cafés take place principally in person to help foster human interactions through an environment of listening, sharing, and mutual respect.

The heart of the movement is our active network of organisers and hosts. We strongly encourage those interested (companies, schools, associations, government…) to get involved in organising and hosting a Café. It is not necessary to be an expert in AI, but rather to act impartially to support an inclusive, good-humoured discussion grounded in shared experiences.

The movement is supported by a small team of Mission Café AI coordinators. The Mission produces and collates resources for the hosting of cafés. We work to:

• produce educational resources and information to increase understanding of AI and digital technologies,
• produce Café AI activities and games to aid the hosting of cafés, and
• expand the network of hosts to increase the number of discussion spaces.

The CafeIA.org site aims to bring together a number of useful resources for both participants and organisers, including open-access learning modules, games, experiments, and prompts for writing and debates. These are, however, not exhaustive: the movement is in constant evolution, and the use of new initiatives and ideas is strongly encouraged.

• Explore our different Café IA formats and games exploring the workings and effects of AI and digital systems.
• Browse our open-access online learning materials about AI and digital matters designed to provide an in-depth analysis of the technical and social sides of new technologies.

The Café AI model is reproducible and reusable by all, and can serve as a model for other countries who share our goals. We would be delighted to expand our network of international partners with the aim of further developing discussion spaces in Europe and across the world.

Our team would be delighted to hear from you with any questions, queries, or expressions of interest – feel free to write to us at bonjour@cafeia.org.

“The event brought together professionals and young participants to discuss how AI is shaping our digital society, mobility, and inclusion. I appreciated the open and accessible format: interactive talks, a roundtable, and finally the hands-on “Café AI” workshops.” Participant.

“With the guidance of Anne Claire Dubreuil and Cécile Ravaux, our discussion was rich, thoughtful, and eye-opening. I also had the opportunity to present our team’s conclusions in French in front of a large audience — my first time doing so since arriving in Toulouse. Being warmly applauded at the end gave me a real sense of progress and confidence.” Participant.

To learn more about the French national Café AI movement:

• Subscribe to our newsletter – currently in French – here, for weekly analysis of current AI and digital affairs, updates about the movement, and details of upcoming events.
• We run a weekly Hosts’ Café (Café Animation) online, generally in French, where we discuss strategies, share experiences, and respond to any questions. All are most welcome – click here to sign up.
• Feel free to get in touch – we will be happy to advise you on upcoming events, including those in English.