Did Sweden skip the AI Summit?

It's been a busy few days for those who want to keep up with international AI developments. President Biden of the United States and Prime Minister Sunak of the United Kingdom have been at the forefront. Biden issued an executive order on rules for AI. Sunak hosted an international summit on AI in Bletchley Park where Sweden was not present. The tech industry was well represented with AI-heavy, mainly American, companies such as OpenAI, Google's DeepMind, Amazon, Meta, Microsoft and the ever-present Elon Musk.

Within the EU cooperation, work continues on the AI Act, which will regulate AI in Europe. It is important to get it right, which is why TechSverige and others have felt that the Spanish Presidency should not unnecessarily push the negotiations. Of course, this does not mean that Sweden and the government should not stay ahead. On the contrary, much is at stake in the AI file. Nor is it news that AI has risen on the agenda in international cooperation, such as in the EU-US Trade and Technology Council and in the UN - where the British invited to their summit.

In these times, it is of course excellent that Sweden has a prime minister who is interested in the AI issue. We are still waiting for more clarity on the AI commission announced by the Prime Minister in the government declaration. Minister Slottner has also been to an AI conference in Canada.

However, when the British hosted an AI summit in the fabled Bletchley Park, the Swedish presence seems to have been more modest. Bletchley Park was the place where the British broke German codes during World War II, including the Enigma encryption machine. It is depicted in the movie The Imitation Game. The main character in the movie is Alan Turing. Turing was not only instrumental in breaking German codes, but has also made major contributions to the development of computers and the field of AI. The British thus loaded the summit with some prestige.

The summit adopted a declaration and prepared for a UN panel on AI, similar to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The EU, the US and China signed the declaration with 25 other countries. Although the declaration was surrounded by talk of the risks of AI, the signing should be seen as a success for the UK.

Six EU countries signed up, including Germany and France, but also smaller countries like the Netherlands and Ireland - but not Sweden. Maybe there were good reasons, or maybe Slottner was at another conference and the AI Commission was not there.

Well, let's hope that Sweden will be more prominent in the international dialog on AI in the future. Not least at the end of the negotiations on the AI Act in Brussels, the government needs to defend our interests.

Update: Sweden may simply not have been invited to the summit.

Perhaps underlines the point. It's about staying ahead - or the Dutch and Irish will.

Or maybe Sweden's invitation was sent to Switzerland...

Fredrik Sand
Industrial policy expert