Sjekkes mot fremføring

Dear all,

It is a great pleasure to be here today together with my colleague, Minister of Digitalisation and Public Governance Karianne Tung, to open The Norwegian Centre on AI for Decisions (AID).

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 at Sintef and NTNU. Building on partnerships with Equinor and other major players in the industry and the public sector. And with strong research partners form all around Norway and abroad.

This is a recipe for success. Because we know the following: Artificial intelligence is driving rapid societal change. It plays a leading role in current geopolitical and technological rivalry. We need safe and trustworthy AI to stay safe, and that is why the government aims for Norway to become the best in the world at the safe use of AI.

If we are to deliver on this ambition, we must continue being one of the world’s most knowledge-based and technologically mature countries. We need world-class, cutting-edge research. Therefore, we have funded our six national research centres on AI.

To stay safe in our digital era, we need to know that our AI tools can be trusted in the most demanding situations. Trustworthy AI is decisive for industrial and energy companies, which operate in complex, risk-exposed systems. And it is decisive for the public sector – for health, emergency preparedness, energy, and transport. Therefore, The Norwegian Centre on AI for Decisions has a key role to play.

I know, AID is only just getting started – still I mentioned the word “success”. AID’s recipe of success is not only about having leading researchers in various fields, but also about creating the conditions for effective, action-oriented collaboration.

AID is officially one of Norway’s most interdisciplinary AI environments – and it should be, because decisions in critical sectors are never purely technical.

Such collaboration is crucial to strengthening Norway’s technological sovereignty and competitiveness.

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. AID is a prime example of how it should be done.

Through dedicated collaboration between research groups 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 The Norwegian Centre on AI for Decisions. As part of your status as one of the six national AI centres, you will become an important adviser to the Norwegian authorities. We look forward to seeing how the six centres together can complement one another and provide insight into both the potential and the consequences that AI has for society.

Dear all, congratulations on the official start of the AID and I wish you the best of luck on the work that lies ahead.

Thank you!