The NordForsk administration would like to recommend to NORDHORCS to establish a Nordic initiative for research and innovation on responsible and ethical use of Artificial Intelligence. The initiative could have multi-tool approach, with activities such as calls, workshops, working groups addressing different needs and purposes on various levels. A working title for the initiative is NAIC- Nordic Artificial Intelligence Collaboration.
NAIC - Nordic Artificial Intelligence Collaboration
The NordForsk administration is prepared to allocate personnel resources to coordinate a Nordic multi-tool initiative on AI including a variety of activities, such as:
- Developing and executing Nordic research and innovation calls on AI
- Coordinating activities such as committee and workshops
- Following the policy development in the field
- Engage with other relevant groups of stakeholders
- Keeping up to date with developments in EU and other relevant actors
- Closely following the research and innovation activities funded by the initiative and work with dissemination of results to policy and practice
The NordForsk administration proposes to establish a preparatory NAIC working group consisting of interested funders with the mandate to develop and flesh out the activities and tools that an initiative would consist of. The working group would collaborate to submit an expression of interest for a call, with a funder taking a leading role, to the NordForsk board in September 2024.
After the board meeting, a NAIC committee would be constituted for the initiative, replacing the working group. The committee would consist of representatives from the funders that have committed resources to the initiative, coordinated by the NordForsk administration. The chair ship of the committee would operate on a rotational basis among the representatives of the funders.
The committee would be responsible for developing the initiative in a timely manner and giving added value in relation national and EU funding. Activities that the committee could be involved in include:
- hosting roundtable discussions with experts providing insight into the field, anchoring the initiative and making sure that it is relevant and up to date
- consider the scope of the initiative in relation to AI and the more general concept of digitalisation
- monitoring developments in national and EU funding and bringing forwards suggestions for the Nordic initiative
Calls
The committee could use the scenarios outlined in this paper as a starting point for discussion for developing calls. It would be feasible to open a call during quarter 1, 2025. Calls could be open, with a degree of focus, or with a more thematic scope. The committee should also take into consideration the following:
- Funding model of calls, true common pot/virtual common pot or a hybrid model (with true common pot for the Nordic countries and virtual common pot for extra-Nordic countries)
- Developing thematic focus and Nordic added value
- Funding instruments
- Financial framework and activities eligible for funding
- Extra-Nordic countries to invite, such as the Baltic states
- Application and review processes
NordForsk has a broad palate of funding instruments that the committee can use and develop for its purposes. Examples include research projects (commonly with a lifetime of between 3 and 5 years), research networks, centres of excellence, university hubs and preparatory projects to build Nordic consortia targeting EU calls.
The NordForsk administration believes that there are sound arguments for funding joint primary research activities in this area. Considering that AI has relevance for and impact on all sectors of society and is rapidly evolving in unpredictable ways, capacity building is central for developing sound and informed responses and governance structures. An added value of Nordic initiatives is that they can be fast and flexible and address national and Nordic common priorities and needs, compared to EU processes with a higher degree of negotiation, taxing administration and longer timeframes. Added value in relation to national funding is for example building critical mass and expertise, enhancing scientific quality and building on particular strengths of Nordic researchers. The most commonly used instrument for this purpose at NordForsk is research projects.
The idea of Nordic AI knowledge hubs has been raised in several context within the Nordic council of ministers and the Nordic council. The need for capacity building and knowledge sharing can be facilitated through establishing a Nordic institution or through networks establishing a virtual hub. To a varying degree, national AI centres exist or are under development in the Nordic countries, such as AI Sweden and FCAI in Finland. The NordForsk administration believes that Nordic research funding could be well spent on connecting national expertise for joint research and innovation activities. Relevant expertise includes research, innovation, developers, law, and users. In this context, the NordForsk administration recommends network funding as it is flexible and cost-efficient instrument. A funding model securing relevant and committed partnering institutions could consist of 1/3 of funding from NordForsk, 1/3 of funding from institutions (including in-kind) and 1/3 from the national research and innovation funders.
The EU AI act recommends the introduction of national or transnational safe “sandbox” testing environment for new AI solutions. In view of this the NordForsk administration would recommend the NIAC committee to consider the inclusion of researcher and innovator participation in sandboxes among the range of possible activities eligible for funding. Sandboxes create spaces for multi-disciplinary and multi-stakeholder cooperation in which innovative products or services that challenge existing legal frameworks can be tested. Sandboxes can bring up unexplored cross-disciplinary questions that merit attention from academia and facilitate societal responses. For example, how design and implementation impact utility and trust and the legal analysis of applicability of various tools (Moltzau 2024).
Competence building and knowledge sharing between funders
The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in research is becoming increasingly common. AI tools can boost efficiency but is not without ethical and legal implications. Funders must find ways to navigate in this new landscape which is under constant development, both concerning research proposal assessment and research funding processes. The European Code of Conduct for Research Integrity for example refers to “Hiding the use of AI or automated tools in the creation of content or drafting of publications” as unacceptable practice (Allea 2023, p.10).
Science Europe recently conducted a survey on the use of AI technology in member organisations. Respondents answered questions concerning the use of AI tools in research activities or processes, institutional guidelines to the use of AI tools and implementation of such guidelines. The survey indicates the importance of mapping practices and sharing knowledge and experience across organisations and national borders. When the NordForsk administration asked colleagues in national research councils in the Nordic region about their preferences for a potential Nordic research collaboration on AI, many raised the potential added value of sharing information on the use of AI in research and research funding.
NordForsk could be a platform for national research funding organisations in the Nordic region to share knowledge, practice, and experiences on AI and responsible research funding procedures. A Nordic network or working group could be beneficial for the national research councils for building capacity and when preparing to or following up on discussions in Science Europe. For NordForsk, it would be a way of keeping up to date on the development in national research councils and which consequences new guidelines could have for joint Nordic calls under NordForsk.
Based on the considerable interest from both Nordic and Baltic research funders the NordForsk administration proposes to invite to a workshop series on AI and research and innovation funding processes. The NordForsk workshop series will be coordinated in relation to eventual further work from Science Europe on this topic. If a need for strengthened and closer Nordic collaboration in this area is identified, NordForsk could contribute to for example working groups.
Sequencing of activities and tools and overview
The NordForsk administration proposes that a multi-tool initiative would be beneficial for Nordic collaboration on the ethical and responsible use of AI. The specific activities are however not necessarily dependent on each other and can be developed and carried out in parallel or in sequel processes.
As outlined in this discussion paper, the initiative should have significant Nordic added value to the research and innovation communities, Nordic research and innovation funders as well as the Nordic societies in general. The committee’s choice of tools and the sequencing of their deployment can secure informed priorities between areas and stakeholders, ensuring impact and Nordic added value.
NordForsk suggests that the initiative starts with the following activities:
- Launching a call for primary research
- Consider a call for networks and capacity building
- Organising a series of workshops for funders
NordForsk suggests that these activities are followed up with:
- Evaluation of a need for new calls including use of new instruments
- Considering possible preparatory activities in view of upcoming EU calls and partnerships
- Organising activities with the funded projects
The following table illustrates how a time plan for a multi-tool initiative over a period of 4 years can be outlined. It can serve as a starting point for discussions in NORDHORCS.
