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What the EU AI Act Means for Nordic AI Companies

What the EU AI Act Means for Nordic AI Companies

These central questions need answers

Peter Juel Jensen
December 12, 2023

Pioneer AI: Checking the Nordic AI Pulse.
Welcome to the 14th edition of The Nordic AI Pulse, the weekly newsletter from Pioneer AI, our Nordic-focused AI investment fund. Dive in for a roundup of AI news, deals, and insights covering the Nordic region.

📚 In This Issue:

What the EU AI Act Means for Nordic AI Companies
Nordic News Roundup
Cool Tools and Companies
Please “Steal” This Start-up Idea
Nordic AI Funding News
Podcast Insights
Upcoming: Nordic AI Events You Shouldn't Miss

Pioneer Insights

What the EU AI Act Means for Nordic AI Companies

The European Union has agreed on the AI Act, artificial intelligence rules set to have profound implications for AI companies, including in the Nordic region. Its ambition is admirable. However, the vague outline leaves AI companies in a legal grey area that can limit their operational flexibility. This is particularly the case for SMEs, the backbone of the Nordic economy.

The Act is expected to come into force in late 2024, following further discussions and refinements.

My take: I believe the new EU law on AI overly emphasises regulation, potentially overshadowing AI's significant benefits. There seems to be a disproportionate focus on controlling AI rather than leveraging its potential for societal advancement. This approach misses crucial opportunities, particularly in how governments could facilitate AI development by providing access to vital datasets.

For example, we can all agree that using gender or race in a social scoring system is dystopian. However, an overly broad ban could inadvertently affect AI in healthcare, where gender and race data can be crucial for accurate diagnoses and effective treatment plans. Overzealous regulation could inadvertently dumb down healthcare algorithms, potentially costing lives by making AI less effective.

In contrast, governments making anonymised health data available to startups would empower companies to solve real health issues. Such a policy would foster innovation and align AI advancements with public interests, leading to breakthroughs in personalised medicine, disease prevention, and healthcare system efficiency.

The new AI acts put AI start-ups and companies in an uncertain situation. This could hamper their ability to innovate and compete internationally. To move beyond this situation, we need answers to central questions like:

Operational flexibility: How will the EU AI Act's current vagueness impact the operational flexibility of AI companies, especially SMEs, in the Nordic region?
Regulatory impact on innovation: How can we ensure that the Act balances regulation with the benefits of AI?
Specificity: How will the AI Act address complex cases where AI applications can create real-world positive impacts by using sensitive data?
Support: Will there be provisions for facilitating AI development, such as providing access to vital datasets and financial support for the broader AI ecosystem?
Ethical AI growth: How will the AI Act balance ethical regulation with supporting AI's growth and positive aspects, including its role in solving real-world problems?

While regulating AI to ensure ethical use is essential, the focus should include enabling its positive aspects. Governments should play a role in supporting AI's growth and leveraging it to solve real-world problems, thereby improving the quality of life. This approach should be more about enabling AI's potential while managing its risks rather than predominantly constraining its development.

🎙Nordic News Roundup

Denmark is lagging behind in the AI race, according to a new survey. [DK] (Ritzau)
Jobs are not disappearing because if AI, but salaries can be affected. [NO] (Digi)
One year with ChatGPT has led to an AI boom for these stocks. [SE] (Morningstar SE)
ChatGPT is the Danish Word of the Year. [DK] (DR)
There is a huge gap between the hype and reality regarding AI in businesses. [NO] (Digiter)
AI is central to the future of our welfare, say Danish organisations, warning that ‘we are being overtaken.’ [DK] (Version 2)
Will “AI Engineers” be the most coveted IT developers? [NO] (Kode24)
Everyone believes in AI for the construction industry - but investments are few and far between. [DK] (Bygtek)
Six tips to avoid your organisational AI competencies stranding with the enthusiasts. [NO] (Kampanje)

🛠️ Cool Tools & Companies

AI Medical Technology from Sweden uses AI-powered diagnosis tools for the medical and healthcare industry.
Segtnan from Denmark provides brain diagnosis with AI-Powered FDG-PET Scans.
EasyTranslate from Denmark offers AI-created and human-enhanced content to companies.
Micmonster from Finland has developed an AI text-to-speech engine that transforms any text into a human-sounding voiceover.

Do you know cool tools or companies I should feature in the newsletter? Let me know!

💵Please “Steal” This Start-up Idea

We would love to see someone build the following (and if you do, we might invest in you).

Introducing "Bookmark Buddy," an AI solution revolutionising your bookmark management. Its AI organises and actively supervises your bookmarks, checking saved sites for significant updates or changes, alerting you if a link is broken or the content changes. So, no more clicking on a bookmark to find a dead link or outdated information. It also enhances your browsing experience by suggesting new websites and pages based on your existing bookmarks.

Bookmark Buddy has multifaceted business moats, including AI algorithms that learn from interactions, creating a highly personalized experience and its potential to integrate with various platforms, enhancing its usability and reach.

🚀AI Funding News

Select Nordic AI companies that have raised funds in recent months:

Plovm from Norway
Skald AI from Sweden
Teton from Denmark
RiACT from Denmark
Capalo AI from Finland
Saidot from Finland
QA.Tech from Sweden
Corti from Denmark
Skyqraft from Sweden
Strise from Norway

Congratulations to all of the founders and teams!

Are there other Nordic companies that should be on this list? Let me know!

🎧 Listen To

Data Management in the Nordics - A Norwegian podcast examines how well the country is positioned to grasp AI opportunities.
IT-säkerhetspodden [SE] - A Swedish IT security podcast looks at AI and machine learning’s positive potential.
AI Denmark [DK] - Danish podcast episode on how business leaders can get started with testing AI for their companies.

📅 Training, Meetups & Conferences

Conferences

February 1-2 (2024): Danish Digitalization, Data Science and AI: AI research and knowledge-sharing conference. [Nyborg, Denmark]
14 March (2024): Applied AI Nordics: Make AI practical and understandable and inspire how to get value from AI in business. [Copenhagen, Denmark]
14 March (2024): AI-Con 2024: AI in the context of content and marketing. [Oslo, Norway]
17-18 April (2024): AI+: Get the latest updates from the world of artificial intelligence. [Halden, Norway]
24-25 April (2024): Data Innovation Summit: One of the most influential Nordic events on data, analytics and AI. [Stockholm, Sweden]