It's not just the AI entrepreneurs who have a job to do

France is investing heavily in AI and hosted a summit in Paris on February 10-11. One of the themes of the AI Action Summit Paris was AI in the service of the public. It is both important and gratifying to be able to say that Sweden was there, led by the Prime Minister. Sweden was not eveninvited to the first AI summit in Bletchley Park in the UK. So far a better outcome for Sweden this time.

The President of France announced national AI investments of €109 billion, mostly for data centers, from private and international investors. This is more than double the amount invested in the UK. Sweden, which like France has a lot of fossil fuel-free energy, has fallen a little behind the Nordic countries in terms of the conditions for investment in data centers for AI development. 

According to the government's own website, the Prime Minister at least made the case for regulatory simplification in the EU during the summit. This is a good thing and should also apply at home. However, it was not ideal that neither the UK nor the US signed the summit's final document. The document signals an important development in the international debate on AI. In previous meetings, there has been a strong focus on the risks of AI. Now, the outcome document instead addressed innovation and sustainable energy use with AI, but also trust in the technology and security.

The international aspects of AI remain important for Sweden to follow closely. In the EU, the work resulting from the AI Regulation is now getting underway in earnest. Here it is important that Sweden is even more involved.

TechSverige and others have pointed out what needs to be done for computing power and other things that can promote AI in Sweden. This includes keeping AI issues together in the regulatory world, reducing compliance costs and having both predictable rules and fast authorization processes for the AI infrastructure. 

Prime Minister Ulf Kristersson (M) urged more people to innovate and take risks. If the Prime Minister takes a risk himself, he may not have to wait to hear about the problems from entrepreneurs first. He can and should anticipate them. If he does so with a bit of speed, Kristersson may be able to provide good advice and experience in time for the next summit. It's not just the entrepreneurs who have to do the work, but the government must also show political action and show the way by daring to invest.

Fredrik Sand
Industrial policy expert