Five Nordic ministers agree: The Nordic region must be Europe's driving force in the AI race

AI is developing at a rapid pace, with new models and features being launched every week. As technology becomes more advanced and mature, the opportunities to use AI as a tool to solve several societal problems are increasing.

The Nordic countries all face similar new and pressing societal challenges, such as aging populations, sustainable transformation of the whole society, and increasing security threats and international competition.

At the same time, the Nordic countries are lagging in the race for AI. In the Global AI Index for 2024, all Nordic countries fall in the benchmark rankings of 83 countries. Today, ever-greater resources of computing power, data, and expertise are required to take advantage of the latest developments in AI.

Similar messages are heard from the EU: Mario Draghi's report from earlier this fall calls for Europe's competitiveness to be secured through increased investment, coordination, and focus on technological innovation.

AI Sweden is leading the preparatory work for a Nordic center for applied AI, together with the organizations ICT Norway, AI Finland, and Digital Dogme. Together, we can capture the potential that exists in the Nordic-Baltic region. Our similar values and culture, far-reaching digitization, and integration as a region provide favorable conditions for pooling resources and further accelerating AI adoption across the region.

Today, AI Sweden, together with five Nordic ministers, the Nordic Council of Ministers, and the Nordic partner organizations, is writing a joint opinion piece that consolidates the ambition to jointly solve our common societal challenges with AI.

The article has been published in several media around the Nordic region. Read the text in Swedish in Dagens industri, and an English version is available at www.newnordics.ai.

The opinion piece is signed by:

Caroline Stage, 
Minister of Digitalization, Denmark

Erik Slottner, 
Minister for Public Administration, Sweden

Karianne Oldernes Tung, 
Minister for Digitalization and Administration, Norway

Wille Rydman, 
Minister of Economic Affairs, Finland

Áslaug Arna Sigurbjörnsdóttir, 
Minister of Higher Education, Science and Innovation, Iceland

Karen Ellemann, 
Secretary General, Nordic Council of Ministers

André Rogaczewski, 
CEO, Netcompany, and Chairman, Digital Dogme

Martin Svensson, 
Managing Director, AI Sweden

Karoliina Partanen, 
Director, AI Finland

Øyvind Husby, 
CEO, IKT Norge