Peter’s Pioneers: Checking the Nordic AI Pulse.
Welcome to the eigth edition of Peter’s AI Pioneers newsletter. Dive in for a roundup of this week's AI news, deals and insights covering the Nordic region.

📚 In This Issue:

1. Who Will Own AI Advisory Services?

2. AI Skills = 21% Higher Salary?

3. How One Person Built a Danish ChatGPT

4. News Roundup

5. Cool Tools and Companies

6. Podcast Insights: The EU view on AI, AI and the Climate

7. Upcoming: Nordic AI Events You Shouldn't Miss

Top Three News Stories

Who wil own AI Advisory Services?

Partners at PwC Denmark and EY Denmark recently told Børsen about the advisory firms’ AI investments and plans. The two companies are part of the “Big Four,” which consists of the biggest global advisory, consulting, and accountancy firms.

They, along with many other advisory companies of all different sizes, are investing heavily in becoming AI experts.

On a global level, EY and PwC have invested DKK 9.5 billion and DKK 7 billion in AI tools, which will provide new opportunities internally.

My take: Put bluntly, there will be a fight for the future of AI advisory services.

Global giants like The Big Four can leverage existing client networks, global infrastructure, substantial financial resources, and a vast network of professionals to create comprehensive AI solutions and advisory services to generate substantial revenue from AI advisory services.

In contrast, the business case of local and niche AI advisory firms is linked with their specialized focus and agility. Their understanding of local markets, industries, and regulatory landscapes enables them to create bespoke AI solutions at speed.

Each group has its challenges, too. For example, big advisory companies can struggle - or be unwilling - to tailor solutions to individual clients. Their clients and projects are often large-scale, which can make them slow-moving. Smaller advisories may struggle to provide the scale and global insight some clients need. They are also likely to generate substantially less revenue per project.

That is why I believe the near future of AI advisory services will be a dynamic blend of both global giants and local/niche firms. The two are likely to clash and overlap in servicing the extensive ecosystem of 330 million small to medium-sized enterprises found across the globe.

The advisory companies able to cater to this rich ecosystem will likely generate revenues that can foster innovation, solutions, and growth that will lead to a long-term position as a leader in AI advisory services.

AI Skills = 21% Higher Salary?

A study from the University of Copenhagen reveals that possessing skills in artificial intelligence (AI) can increase salaries by an average of 21%. The research, which evaluated 962 work-related skills, found that AI-related competencies are among the most valued in the labour market, reflecting AI's rapid development and demand in various work contexts.

Ole Teutloff from the Copenhagen Center for Social Data Science (SODAS) at the University of Copenhagen is one of the study’s authors. He notes that the findings underscore how artificial intelligence is undergoing rapid development and that skills in the field are in demand.

“But AI competencies are also a good example of a type of skill that can be used in many work contexts, and which therefore gives extra value to possess," he says.

The findings, based on data from 50,000 freelance jobs offered on a large American online platform from 2014-2022, underscore the significant earning potential of individuals with specialized AI skills in the technology-driven labour market.

My take: The study on AI and pay points to the gap in the AI talent market. This scarcity creates opportunities for AI consultancies and advisories, who help businesses navigate the complexities of AI integration.

This talent deficit also highlights what I consider a golden opportunity for solution providers and new start-ups: creating comprehensive, tailored packets of cohesive AI systems. By developing the essential "pipes" that connect various AI solutions into a unified, impactful package, these providers can substantially amplify the effectiveness of AI technologies within businesses. Simultaneously, it helps simplify AI integration for companies, which I see as a winning formula.

How One Person Built a Danish ChatGPT

Mads Henrichsen is the machine learning enthusiast behind DanskGPT, a 100% Danish AI language model. The model is exclusively trained on Danish data and developed to promote Danish language technology.

Mads has made Dansk GPT available to everyone, free of charge. He is in the process of training a bigger and better model that will contain much more knowledge about Denmark and the way we communicate.

The goal is for DanskGPT to be as good as ChatGPT.

My take: Mads’ project is awe-inspiring. To date, he has spent almost a thousand hours developing something truly unique.

At the same time, his work shows what can be achieved with AI today. If we go two to three years back, I think it would have been impossible for one person to build something like DanskGPT.

In other words, it is a testament to how the barrier to ground-breaking innovation has been lowered thanks to the advances in AI.

🎙Nordic News Roundup

• Norwegian AI solution is key to a giant building project in Denmark. [NO] (Bygg) (Pawall)

• Danish AI company expands its operations in North America with new San Francisco office (2021.ai)

• Drone AI for renewable energy wins major award [DK] (Ritzau)

• Debate rages over Norwegian bank using AI-generated person in its advertising [NO] (Børsen Norge)

• Engineering company has trained AI on its previous tenders. Its job: to write new, winning tenders. [DK] (IT Watch)

🛠️ Cool Tools & Companies

• KAKTI from Denmark provides AI optimisation tools for energy production.

• Nortech AI from Norway provides AI-powered tools that aid decision-making in the maritime industry.

• Dipsy from Finland optimises the outcomes of digital therapeutics with AI.

• Flower from Sweden uses a knowledge platform and AI to deploy electricity flexibility efficiently.

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

🎧 Listen To

• AI-podden - Swedish podcast episode that explores how investors are interested AI solutions that solve climate challenges.

• Digitaliseringspodden [NO] - Norwegian podcast episode that focuses on how AI can be used by Norwegian companies.

• Verbos [DK] - Conversation with Mads Henrichsen on the development of DanskGPT.

📅 Training, Meetups & Conferences

• 8-9 November: Digital Tech Summit 2023: The heart of Nordic deep tech. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• 20-21 November: AI Sweden at Internetdagarna 2023: Three seminars on AI in Sweden as part of Internetdagarna. [Online]

• 4-7 December: Human-Agent Interaction 2023: The premier interdisciplinary venue for discussing and disseminating state-of-the-art research and results. [Gothenburg, Sweden]

• 14 March (2024): Applied AI Nordics: Make AI practical and understandable and inspire how to get value from AI in business. [Copenhagen, Denmark]

• 17-18 April (2024): AI+: Get the latest updates from the world of artificial intelligence. [Halden, Norway]

Got an AI story or insight from the Nordics? Share it with me!

Reply to this email or connect on LinkedIn.

Until next time,

Peterhe Futurei