VivaTech 2026 highlights debates over AI ethics and representation

The tenth edition of VivaTech featured significant discussions regarding the integration and ethical boundaries of artificial intelligence across various industries. A primary point of debate centered on the concept of trust and representation. L’Oréal’s Director of Innovation and Strategic Planning, Delphine Viguier-Hovasse, highlighted a 2021 ethics committee rule prohibiting the use of computer-generated imagery to represent beauty in any country where the company operates. While L’Oréal utilizes AI for clinical trial data aggregation and digital hair simulations, the company maintains a strict boundary against using it to alter human faces in marketing.

In contrast, representatives from Keurig Dr Pepper noted that AI agents help feed social media consumer trends back into their innovation pipeline. Industry statistics shared during the event indicated that while 73 percent of companies use AI daily, only 10 percent consider it central to their core operations, suggesting a gap in organizational integration. Additionally, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen addressed the rise of ‘AI slop’—excessive, low-interest content produced by mass-production tools.