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Call for applications for pilot projects to open: Using artificial intelligence to enhance wellbeing

Government Communications Department
Publication date 9.5.2018 12.56 | Published in English on 9.5.2018 at 16.24
Press release 242/2018

Finland wants to boost its position as a frontrunner in artificial intelligence (AI). The Prime Minister’s Office’s key project known as ‘Experimental Finland’ and Motiva Oy are now looking for small-scale experiments that aim to respond to wellbeing-related challenges by using AI. The themes are Order in everyday life, Building sense of community, and Environment and us.

The themes open up a variety of possibilities for resolving challenges using AI. Examples of challenges that could perhaps be resolved using AI include: How can like-minded individuals find each other easier? How can we make decisions that are environmentally sustainable and comply with our values? How to find the best services to meet a given need?

The themes were formulated based on a call for challenge applications that was open from 19 April to 2 May. The aim was to find challenges which could be responded to using AI to foster wellbeing. “We received altogether 33 proposals, and there were all sorts of topics. We didn’t use any of the proposals as such. Instead, we combined topics from several proposals into larger themes,” says Project Manager Virve Hokkanen from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The call for applications for pilot projects involves small-scale experiments that can be carried out at a cost of around EUR 500 to EUR 5,000. Business enterprises, public sector actors, non-governmental organisations and private individuals may submit their proposals for experiments. “We hope to receive a lot of applications. It would be great to get new people engaged in the AI debate through the small-scale experiments. We are hoping for novel and even surprising ideas for experiments,” says Senior Expert Lea Gynther from Motiva Oy.

Artificial intelligence is now highly topical. “There has been a lot of discussion about the relationship between AI and technology and culture and humanism. Our call for applications for pilot projects is one way to contribute to this debate. The themes reflect well the idea that AI should serve wellbeing, and not the other way round. Artificial intelligence is only one tool for building a sustainable society,” says Senior Specialist Johanna Kotipelto from the Prime Minister’s Office.

The call for applications for pilot projects will close on 3 June 2018.

Further information on the call for applications

Inquiries: Virve Hokkanen, Project Manager, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 295 160 490, [email protected], Johanna Kotipelto, Senior Specialist, Prime Minister’s Office, tel. +358 295 160 206, [email protected], and Lea Gynther, Senior Expert, Motiva Oy, tel. +358 9 612 250 44, [email protected]