Nordic Council of Ministers and Nordic Council priorities and activities

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In August 2019 the Nordic Prime Ministers adopted a vision for Nordic collaboration. The vision is that the Nordic Region will become the most sustainable and integrated region in the world by 2030. To achieve the vision, three strategic priorities have been identified. Initiatives within the frameworks of the Nordic Council of Ministers must contribute to a green, competitive and socially sustainable region. This includes all ministerial councils and Nordic institutions. 

AI related issues are particularly well developed and discussed within the frameworks of the Nordic ministerial councils for culture, digitalisation, justice affairs and sustainable growth. Ethical and responsible use of AI is high on the Nordic agenda, including establishing a working group looking into the use of AI tools within the Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat. 

To improve digital resilience in the Nordic region, the Nordic Prime Ministers have tasked the Ministers for Nordic Co-operation to strengthen Nordic cooperation to track the accelerating development around the use of AI in spreading disinformation in the Nordic countries,  seek ways to support the necessary oversight and democratic transparency by securing data access for researchers that monitor the effects of digital technology platforms on democracy, and explore ways how the Nordic countries can jointly strengthen their digital resilience with regards to threats posed by AI to democracy, also in smaller communities at special risk. The Nordic Prime Minister initiative is a continuation of the work done by the Nordic Think Tank for Tech and Democracy (NMC 2023). The think tank was part of a broader effort by the Nordic Ministers for Culture in their joint work in this field. 

A Nordic focus on AI was already put forward with the declaration AI in the Nordic-Baltic region (NCM 2018) adopted by the Nordic Ministers for Digitalisation May 2018. The declaration states that while AI offers significant potential for the Nordic and Baltic countries in business and public sector activities, challenges should not be underestimated. Even with the high digital maturity of the Nordic and Baltic countries, efforts to better utilise the possibilities of AI will require awareness and consideration of ethical and other risks. Countries that are successful in utilising and realising the benefits of AI, while managing risks responsibly, will have advantages in international competition and in developing more efficient and relevant public sector activities. 

The Nordic Council of Ministers for Justice Affairs have conducted a number of pilot activities on the subject of digitalization of the courts (NCM 2022) The report from the project Public Digitalisation in a legal perspective: Status, challenges and opportunities for Nordic-Baltic cooperation will be published in 2024. In the project leading researchers within law and digitalisation from Norway, Sweden, Finland, Latvia, Estonia, Lithuania, and Denmark will present the fundamental characteristics of digitalising their national public administrations from a legal perspective and will give recommendations on Nordic-Baltic cooperation related to public digitalization. Nordic-Baltic countries possess different specialised expertise and differ from the majority of the EU member states as the Nordic-Baltic countries´ public sectors rank among the most digitalised in the world. Recommendations from the project will discuss topics in connection to collaboration between national centres and key environments working around the regulatory sandboxes, cybersecurity regulations and cross-border data sharing, ensuring human rights and reducing biases. The issues of data sharing are also a topic for the Handbook of cross-border data exchange within the Nordic and Baltic countries with case studies on health services and legal databases (NCM 2023) and other initiatives. 

Nordic Innovation is a Nordic institution owned by the Nordic Council of Ministers for Sustainable Growth. Nordic Innovation is currently developing a Nordic AI and data ecosystem, based on the principles of responsible use of data and ethical AI, consisting of several activities: 

Nordic Innovation has established a Nordic AI Expert Group consisting of 23 Nordic experts within AI and Data. The expert group is currently working on recommendations connected to five focus areas: data management, research to industry / pilot to production, ethical AI & implementation of regulation, skills and talent, and AI to accelerate sustainability transformation. The expert group will later this year present their recommendations for a Nordic AI strategy, a Nordic centre for responsible AI, foundation models for Nordic languages, a skilled workforce and a competent society, and transparency around the sustainability of AI technologies. As this is work in progress, the recommendations are subject to possible adjustments. 

Other relevant efforts within the framework of the formal Nordic co-operation are: 

  • Digital inclusion in action project aims to contribute to an inclusive digital transition in the Nordic-Baltic societies by promoting collaboration, dialogue, and knowledge sharing between practitioners and policymakers. The project is administered by Nordregio. 
  • A range of technologies are transforming value chains and creating well-functioning ecosystems, spanning from AI to Internet of Things, discussed in the report Datasharing for a circular economy  and with relevance for the project Nordic Circular Accelerator | Nordic Innovation.  
  • The NOBAREG working group contributes to national digitalisation efforts through an exchange of experiences and common approaches to implementation of relevant EU legislation. 
  • The Nordic Council is currently debating a proposal for recommending a Nordic Center for AI knowledge. 
  • Relevant research projects supported by NordForsk are:  

The Nordic Council of Ministers’ Secretariat, the Nordic Culture Fund and the Nordic Institutions are all looking into how AI can be used in an ethical and responsible way in their administrations. The work is in its pilot stages.