Dear all,

In June, together with Pime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre, we announced that SURE-AI – Norwegian Centre for Sustainable, Risk-averse and Ethical AI – would be one of the six national AI-research centres in Norway. Now we are gathered here for the official opening.

I am impressed by the drive, the commitment and the ambitions that are gathered in this centre and in this room. Building on years of excellent research here at Simula Research Laboratory. Building on partnerships in industry and the public sector. And with strong research partners form all around Norway and abroad.

To tackle the major societal challenges we face today, we need world-class, cutting-edge research. And for such research to thrive, it must be supported by the right structures and systems – carefully and thoughtfully designed. SURE-AI is a prime example of such a framework. You have created a center that tackles society’s most pressing challenges head-on.

Let me highlight three ways in which you are achieving this.

Firstly, we must ensure that AI serves society in ways that are ethical and transparent. The government’s ambition is for Norway to be at the forefront of safe and ethical use of AI, and research and higher education must lead the way for the rest of society. Your work underpins this ambition. By building human values right into the algorithms, you are making them – as you say it best yourself – ethical from the inside out. 

Secondly: energy efficiency and sustainability. AI should not come at the expense of our environment. SURE-AI’s focus on building efficient models with low environmental impact reflects Norway’s vision for green technology that supports long-term prosperity. I am excited to see how SURE-AI will develop groundbreaking methods that enable artificial intelligence to accurately analyse complex and diverse data in critical fields like energy and climate science. This is the type of technology we need for Norway to succeed in the green transition.

Thirdly, Norway has world-class researchers and innovative companies, yet we lag behind many other nations when it comes to connecting these two worlds. Knowledge alone is not enough – it must be applied, tested, and scaled in real-world contexts. SURE-AI is a prime example of how it should be done. Through dedicated collaboration between research and the private and public sector, you aim to ensure that research results go beyond academic publications. This way of driving innovation is something I want to see more of in Norway.

So – it should come as no surprise that I have high expectations for SURE-AI. As part of your status as one of the six national AI centres, you will become an important policy adviser for the Norwegian government. We also look forward to seeing how the six centres together complement each other and give insight into the potential and the consequences AI has for society.

A few weeks ago, the prime minister, minister of digitalization and I met with Professor Yoshua Bengio, a world leader in AI. Bengio has raised relevant concerns about digital sovereignty and how we ensure safe AI technology, from language models to governance and oversight. I am optimistic – and SURE-AI will be an important part of this ecosystem.

Dear all, I wish you the best of luck on the work that lies ahead, and congratulations on the official start of the SURE-AI Center. It is of vital importance to our future.

Thank you!