Vinnovas AI-rapport from 2018 shows that there is a very large potential for Sweden in the AI area. At the same time, there are clear challenges, including skills supply, unclear ownership rights and rules for data, deficiencies in data quality and data structure, lack of joint governance and the fact that public R&I investments in the AI area are not sufficiently coordinated.
The report shows that collaboration is central to Sweden being able to realise its potential, but that even our leading AI environments are relatively small in international comparison. In order to mobilise, increase visibility and activity in applied AI, Vinnova therefore assesses that there are good reasons and opportunities for coordination and synergies by developing a number of national arenas (nodes), which are linked together by a common “umbrella”, AI Innovation of Sweden. It is essential that the nodes are open and accessible to all parties who wish to connect.
Therefore, Vinnova has chosen to work focused on AI to strengthen the opportunities for national coordination and pooling of forces in the area with the main aim of accelerating innovation in the AI area. It is essential that collaboration is open and accessible to all parties who want to join. There is also a point to strive for a cross-sectoral and interdisciplinary approach, e.g. in terms of the development of data, techniques, tools, processes, and policies.
Eligibility requirements for the national coordination AI Innovation of Sweden
AI Innovation of Sweden is an umbrella function that helps take a national approach to create a unifying force for applied AI for Sweden:
- AI Innovation of Sweden consists of geographical nodes that jointly build up the whole. The umbrella ensures national coordination, while the geographical nodes stand for the ability to act. Coordination consists, for example, of identifying support functions (e.g. best practice in legal informatics, GDPR, etc.) that all nodes share.
- AI Innovation of Sweden and the nodes should be clearly cross-sectoral in terms of collaboration and development of general enabling data, techniques, tools, processes, policies, etc.
- AI Innovation of Sweden and its associated nodes will contribute to a more structured and thorough coverage of the AI area both nationally and internationally to become Sweden's comprehensive source of information and knowledge.
Eligibility requirements on geographic nodes
- Each node constitutes geographical, and sometimes also domain-specific, clusters of strength and each node should have thematic areas of strength. The nodes may partially overlap but should provide a clear funding for the whole.
- A node must be based on a stated R&I need from the perspective of the need owners, e.g. the public sector and industry.
- A node should have a physical meeting place. Cross-talk, knowledge sharing and cross-fertilization are a separate objective of the nodes.
- Each geographic node should be open and function as a national resource by making infrastructure, data, expertise and collaboration opportunities available in collaboration with other nodes.
Effort of 100 million SEK 2020-2024
AI Innovation of Sweden was inaugurated in February 2019 and already during the first year of operation, great progress was made in creating a collaborative structure and an AI ecosystem across Sweden. The initiative complements WASP (Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems and Software Program)) and similar research-oriented initiatives by focusing on accelerating AI-based innovation. Given the importance of AI and its potential for industry, the public sector and society at large, it is necessary to provide long-term conditions for the initiative to continue to develop. In January 2020, Vinnova therefore decided to increase the funding and extend the funding. This means that Vinnova will finance AI Innovation of Sweden with SEK 100 million during the period 2020-2024.