Great opportunities to develop welfare with artificial intelligence

The Riksdag has decided that Sweden should be the best in the world at using the possibilities of digitization. In the digital journey of change that the whole society is now undergoing, artificial intelligence is one of the most transformative technologies. DIGG, the authority for digital administration, has calculated that a complete introduction of today's AI technology in public administration could mean a financial benefit for society of SEK 140 billion annually.

- The challenges of welfare impose eligibility requirements on radical innovation in terms of the design of future public services and how they are produced. By taking advantage of the possibilities of digitization, it is possible to create an efficient and innovative welfare system that meets the needs of citizens. Opportunities exist in all areas related to municipal activities, from care, social care and school to public transport, administration and urban planning, says Fredrik Weisner, programme manager at Vinnova.

- Civil society organizations also have great opportunities to take on new challenges with the help of AI and conduct more efficient and legally secure activities. They have good opportunities to become a trusted and innovative actor in the collection and use of data based on, at their core, high trust capital among citizens, he says.

AI is a new technical element that creates additional needs for competence and abilities in welfare organizations. Vinnova has therefore allowed municipalities and civil society to submit applications in the call for proposals "Start your AI journey: For organizational learning and practical use of artificial intelligence in municipalities and civil society". The aim is for more people to be able to test and build internal knowledge about working with AI. The investment is part of a four-year gathering of forces that Vinnova and AI Sweden are making on AI in municipalities and civil society.

Decisions have now been made about funding eight project with SEK 4.6 million. Some of the project that receive funding:

Machine learning in social services

The purpose of the project is to achieve, with the support of AI, a more efficient social service, where the right interventions are given at the right time and there are good conditions for good resource allocation.

Coordinator: Linköping municipality

Artificial intelligence, real people

The project will investigate whether artificial intelligence and machine learning can be used on the labor market and social administration's data for financial assistance and labor market interventions and whether it can better help and equip the Malmö residents who seek the administration's support.

Coordinator: The Labor Market and Social Administration (ASF) in Malmö city.

Insights from Mind's chat conversations for needs-driven business development

The project develops AI that analyzes chat conversations between volunteers and aid seekers and provides insights into the operation's main stakeholders: the aid seekers and the volunteer. Examples can be how the support seeker experiences the conversation, topics you want to talk about and how you feel before and after the chat. For the volunteer, which conversations are experienced as the most demanding, topics and needs.
Koordinator Mind, non-profit association

Friends car alarm

The project's objective is to use AI to quickly locate situations where a student expresses a potentially dangerous situation and a need for immediate help in free text responses.
Coordinator: Stiftelsen Friends - students against bullying

See all project that receive funding