Position paper on artificial intelligence

Minister of Research and Higher Education Ola Borten Moe, State Secretary Oddmund Løkensgard Hoel, representatives from the civil service and invited participants from the HE and institute sectors took part in the meeting, which was chaired by the Minister. The University of Bergen was represented by Deputy rector Pinar Heggernes, Professor Jill Walker Rettberg, and postdoctoral fellow Anja Salzmann. The meeting started with three short presentations from UiB, SINTEF and FFI, and continued with discussions around the table with recommendations from the institutions.

After the meeting, the participants were encouraged to provide input on where Norway’s strengths are, and where we can make a difference internationally related to the future of artificial intelligence. The University of Bergen's input has been submitted in the form of a position paper (in Norwegian) which was drawn up by the university leadership in collaboration with the UiB AI steering group. The recommendations from UiB are summarized under four points:

1.     Invest in basic and interdisciplinary research that can help make artificial intelligence more reliable, fair, and secure.

2.     Facilitate active collaboration across disciplines and sectors

3.     Strengthen education in digitization and artificial intelligence: Both ICT-specialized and as integrated knowledge in all education

4.     Utilize Norway's position as a leading country in data registries and e-infrastructure

These points are elaborated in each separate chapter of the position paper, with examples from UiB's own work in these directions.

A short summary of the position paper has also been published as an opinion piece from Rector Margareth Hagen and Deputy Rector Pinar Heggernes in Khrono.