The groundwork laying the foundation for the establishment of a Nordic-Baltic AI Center has now been finalized marking an important step in the process. Sindre Bornstein, Managing Director at Nordic Innovation explains:
"This project delivery marks a crucial step towards a Nordic-Baltic AI Center. Nordic Innovation’s role is that of a catalyst to scale proven national success stories and ecosystem initiatives, like AI Sweden, to a Nordic-Baltic level. With a consortium representing four Nordic countries, the project has built strong momentum in a fast-moving and complex landscape with many stakeholders. The journey now rapidly continues towards establishment of a Nordic Baltic AI Center, and we warmly invite everyone in the ecosystem to engage with the project consortium as we shape the future of AI development and adoption in the Nordic-Baltic region together.”
“A big thank you to everyone who has contributed with input and perspectives so far, and not least to AI Sweden who has been a truly committed and capable project manager and partner,” adds Sindre Bornstein.
The Nordic-Baltic AI Center is one of the five recommendations developed by Nordic Innovation’s Ethical AI Expert Group. The plan is to establish the Nordic-Baltic AI Center later this year.
AI Sweden has been project lead on the preparatory work and is now looking forward to continuing with the establishment of the actual AI Center. Martin Svensson, Managing Director of AI Sweden says:
“The Nordic-Baltic countries can together create significant societal value and important competitive advantages by improving cooperation in the field of AI. We are impressed by Nordic Innovation’s leadership through this project, which has delivered crucial results regarding funding, structure, and organization for a Nordic-Baltic center. Our full focus is now on bringing the establishment of the center across the finish line.”
A result of the Nordic Ethical AI Expert Group
In 2023, Nordic Innovation brought together a group of 23 experts in the Nordic Ethical AI Expert Group with the aim of developing recommendations on how the Nordics should work with ethical AI. One of the recommendations was to establish a Nordic Centre for Responsible AI to support Nordic businesses in developing and adopting AI responsibly and creating a Nordic hub for ethical AI innovation.
The proposed center should also serve as a catalyst for all five recommendations put forward by the Nordic Ethical AI Expert Group - providing public policy support and supporting and implementing a joint Nordic strategy, building data infrastructure in our own languages, developing AI competencies across society, and enhancing transparency around the sustainability of AI.
Read more about the five recommendations
As a first step towards an AI Center, Nordic Innovation decided to support a preparatory project with the aim to:
- Propose a clearly defined scope for a center as well as mission, objectives, effect, governance, management, activities, and a financial model and budget to launch the center.
- Establish a strong consortium across a minimum of three countries including the most relevant national actors for driving AI adoption.
- Investigate funding possibilities
The project partners AI Sweden, IKT Norway and AI Finland are now presenting their recommendations for the establishment of the Nordic-Baltic AI Center including recommendations on governance, structure, organization and funding.
