#IntheSpiritofNobel
It’s no surprise that Sweden, home of the Nobel Prize, an award for advancements benefiting humankind, would take a special interest in the immense potential of artificial intelligence. The Swedish approach to developing AI technologies embodies the country’s core tenet of innovation: collaboration.
Just like in the early days of other major technological breakthroughs, like electricity and the internet, some hype about artificial intelligence is overblown and some is not that far off. Its ability to process vast amounts of data and carry out large-scale solutions on the most practical levels (all while improving as it goes) is paradigm-shifting but comes with serious ethical concerns and moral dilemmas.
AI technology can be a critical tool for new levels of discovery in medical research, as well as a means for creating and spreading misinformation. It can make things easier by automating arduous tasks and create more difficulty by analyzing data with an unintentional bias. The key difference lies with who creates an AI application and puts it to work.
This exhibition invites you to explore how various Swedish companies and organizations are developing and implementing artificial intelligence in a way that can lead to a more open society, healthier world, or greener planet.
This exhibition will be on display from March 30, 2024. Opening hours: Saturdays and Sundays between 12-5 PM.
#FREE admission, no registration needed. Government issued photo ID is required to enter House of Sweden (children under 18 are exempted).
What can artificial intelligence do about rising sea levels, catastrophic weather events, and declining biodiversity? As a country committed to combating climate change, Sweden is often at the forefront of the global green transition. Many leading companies from the nation’s largest industries – like agriculture, transportation, and forestry – are developing
ways to be more sustainable and less impactful on the environment. And that includes AI-based solutions. The ability to analyze large amounts of complex climate data makes AI an appealing tool for taking action against climate change. It can provide insight and knowledge on greenhouse gas emissions, as well as make quick autonomous decisions to reduce emissions.
AI systems also help to increase the efficiency of an operation, an essential part of sustainability’s “do more with less” philosophy. From AI-powered drones managing forests for carbon sequestration to farm machinery using AI-compiled data for optimal crop yields, there are seemingly endless applications that can benefit the environment. AI could very well be the key to leaving a greener planet for future generations.
Will artificial intelligence help solve the greatest challenges in healthcare? Medical data is extremely complex and extensive. Yet, AI analysis can find patterns and connections in the information that a human would never be able to spot. That can speed up a lot of the work in medical research, such as drug development, and create completely new opportunities to understand and treat diseases, like preventative intervention based on subtle risk factors. AI can also help streamline hospital administration and patient management, adding new levels of care.
Sweden is especially ideal for developing and implementing AI technology in healthcare. The Swedish general population has a high degree of digital literacy and cultural acceptance of digital technology in almost every setting, including healthcare. This has allowed most regional healthcare systems to adopt vast digital infrastructure and collect data from patients without much trouble. It’s the healthcare data needed for groundbreaking AI projects, many of which are already up and running, creating incalculable value.
AI’s presence within healthcare might not be that noticeable in the future, but living in a healthier world definitely will be.
Is artificial intelligence a threat to a free and equal society? In its most basic form, AI technology doesn’t have inherent prejudice. But AI developers are human. People create the algorithms. People train machine learning programs. People provide the data to teach artificial neural networks. And people are biased in one way or another.
An AI’s unintentional bias can set a mechanism of false logic in a system that affects lives, like underrepresenting minority groups in statistical estimates to plan healthcare resources. But even unbiased AI can still cause harm. The basis for an AI tool developed to track and arrest poachers, for example, can be used to monitor and oppress civilian populations.
There are several groups in Sweden exploring these issues and even working on solutions that use AI technology itself to defend individual freedoms and human rights. And although these are different types of organizations – big and small, from public sector to private – they all draw from and continue the Swedish legacy of progressive and democratic values.
At the end of the day, creating and safeguarding an open society is the responsibility of people, not AI.
The exhibition is produced by the Swedish Institute and in collaboration with Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS), Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), and the Embassy of Sweden in the United States.
The exhibition is produced by the Swedish Institute and in collaboration with Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program (WASP), Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program – Humanity and Society (WASP-HS), Research Institutes of Sweden (RISE), and the Embassy of Sweden in the United States.