Norway needs a technology minister

Written by Aksel Braanen Sterri (Head of Department at the Centre for Long-Term Policy, Researcher in Ethics, OsloMet) and Inga Strümke (Associate Professor, Norwegian Open AI Lab, NTNU).

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With One billion dollars for research on artificial intelligence (KI) the government has finally shown that it takes artificial intelligence seriously. We urge the government to allow this to be the start of a comprehensive and offensive commitment to new technologies.

And not least that the digital visions presented in the Hurdal Platform are followed up with a ministerial post for technology, digitalisation and KI.

Here are five good reasons.

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1. Better services

KI has already demonstrated a revolutionary potential in several sectors. In the field of medicine used KI with impressive accuracy to diagnose cancerous tumors. Ki-driven analyses were used during the development of Pfizer and Moderna's mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines. In the field of education, AI systems are being developed that can ensure learning adapted to the individual student.

In the financial world, KI is used to make more profitable investments. Services like ChatGPT and Dall-E are about to change text and image production in many industries.

Despite these advances, the public sector has not embraced this potentially revolutionary force. KI can streamline services, reduce red tape and give taxpayers more back.

The lack of interest is due, among other things, to the fact that large parts of the public sector are not organized to quickly adopt the latest innovations.

A Minister for Technology, Digitalisation and KI will be able to take overall responsibility for this development. That means putting the necessary ethical and legal clarifications on the agenda. And play a much needed coordinating role.

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2. Better democracy

A forward-looking technology policy could also strengthen democracy. In the recently published “Analysis of the state of Norwegian democracy” The absence of direct democratic participation was highlighted as a weakness of Norwegian democracy.

At the same time, we see that technology makes the public conversation vulnerable to negative influence. For example, Russia has tried to influence US elections. Future elections could be influenced by deepfakes and disinformation generated by large language models.

Both issues need to be met with innovative policies for the use of digital services. Taiwan shows the potential of technology to foster democratic participation and a better public conversation. For example, they have adopted “crowdsourcing” technology (a form of online networking) to include multiple perspectives in political processes.

Norway can learn from these initiatives. At the same time, we have to deal with the fact that KI will be able to disrupt the public conversation in ways that require action. A minister responsible for technology, digitisation and IT can provide a holistic approach to these challenges.

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3. Holistic policy

So far we have had two digitalisation ministers. One argument for discontinuing the post was that work on digitization cannot be limited to one ministry.

It is clear that all ministries must take digitalization and ICT seriously. For example, the Ministry of Education has to deal with challenges related to the use of ChatGPT and teaching aids developed by large technology companies.

But there are also a number of challenges that go beyond the mandate of the Minister of Knowledge. Outside of school hours, young people adopt services steeped in manipulative algorithms. Something that is highly likely impairs their mental health.

Norway has one of the world's strongest public infrastructures for regulating the use of new, powerful tools. But how children and young people are protected against manipulative algorithms is not obvious. Perhaps Altinn, our digital certification system, can be used to regulate access to and ensure the proper use of KI?

The notion that technological development can be handled independently of the various ministries underestimates how extensive technological development is. ChatGPT came as a surprise to the Norwegian school system. There are still no clear guidelines for schools to follow.

If responsibility for artificial intelligence had lain with one minister, there is reason to believe we would have been better prepared for these developments.

In fact, we can turn the argument against a digitisation minister on its head. Precisely the fact that technological development must be addressed in all ministries makes it even more important that a minister has the necessary expertise. The same minister must have responsibility for coordination and a holistic policy the different ministries can lean on.

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4th. Clarify liability for damages at KI

Norway needs extensive work to clarify liability for harmful use of KI. Who is responsible if powerful and widely available technology is used in a harmful way?

For example, to develop computer viruses that knock out critical IT infrastructure in healthcare. Can the companies developing this technology be held accountable if they gamble with our common security?

Clarification of liability will have two effects: Large technology companies will be influenced to develop the technology safely. And it will provide predictable framework conditions for industries that will adopt KI.

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5. International presence

These days, the United States and China are leading players on the development of artificial intelligence. The EU has taken on the leadership jersey in regulating digital technologies. Norway must make it a priority to participate in these processes and develop its own policy in the field. Otherwise, we will end up having to import framework terms made and adopted by other powers.

To increase the weight of these processes, we need a minister with both knowledge and expertise on KI and KI regulation. This is how we can promote our values and perspectives in international work.

New technologies, especially related to AI, offer us a number of opportunities and present us with great challenges. Creating a ministerial post for technology, digitization and IT is a necessary step to realize a positive technological future.

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