i3 - May/June 2019 - 33

By Antti Niemelä

Policy

G U E ST B LO G

Tech Leadership
is Ingrained in
Finnish DNA

Bernd von Jutrczenka/Picture Alliance via Getty Images

was a 'Millennium, Nokia' child. We were all proud of
Nokia and all had one", says Elisa, a 22-year-old colleague
of mine. Finns have always led in the adaptation of new
technologies as well as in designing and developing those. How
mobile phone usage spread like a wildfire is a great example.

In this regard, Elisa is already an "oldie"
in the Finnish tech scene. She got her
first cell phone "in the fourth or the
fifth grade," about the time American
children receive theirs these days. My
own son recently received his phone in
the first grade in Finland, and he was
almost the last one.
Finland punching above its weight in
technology has many roots, but the main
reason clearly is that technology is
ingrained in the Finnish mentality and
that the whole society is included in
technological progress and thinking.
It is only natural that Finland was the
first country to offer a free artificial
intelligence course for everyone and one
of the first to include coding in the curriculum at the elementary level.
Furthermore, Finland is where a successful tech company established a free,
peer-to-peer based coding school, and
where the government became the first
in the world to make broadband access a
basic right of its citizens.
The Finnish approach to new technology is based on the involvement of the
whole society. For example, with artificial intelligence, the government programme for AI - called "AI Era" - was
not only done in PPP-format, but also
the PPPP-format. That's public-private
-people-partnership.
This PPPP process makes Finnish
development of new tech policies efficient and productive. AI ethics principles
are already widely adopted in the Finnish
C TA . t e c h / i 3

business community, because the same
businesses were part of this government
initiative. Actually, people from business
chaired the whole process.
This inclusive approach is fundamentally visible in all Finnish technology
actions, from policy to education to the
future of smart cities. Kalasatama, a
smart district in Helsinki, prides itself
for being community driven with piloting new technologies rather than company or gadget driven. The aim is not a
tech wonderland, but a very concrete
benefit for residents - one more hour of
extra time for yourself each day.
Based on our experience this cooperative and grassroots-led approach
fosters innovation and solutionsfocused thinking.
However, to make this approach work,
we need a population that is educated,

It is only natural that
Finland was the first country to offer a free artificial
intelligence course for
everyone and one of the
first ones to include coding
in the curriculum at the
elementary level.

tech-savvy and, most importantly, tech
positive. Therefore, education remains
the key for tech leadership. Not just
STEM education and training of engineers, rather, the whole society has to
embrace technology.
As Elisa's and my son's experiences
point out, embracing tech in Finland
starts from a very young age and continues throughout one's lifespan. More
importantly, it is not just about being a
tech geek. Ingraining technology into
our lives from a very young age brings
tangible benefits.
Children in Finland are independent
much earlier than in the U.S., walking
or taking public transport to school
from the first grade. Cell phones
enable parents to communicate with
their children and check on them.
However, overall safety of the streets
in Finland is not a by-product of technology, it is the result of successful
societal policies.
First and foremost, despite our
ingraining of technology, Finns remain
realistic about tech. Technology is a
tool, not an end. Tech leadership also
means carefully evaluating the impact
to our well-being each technology
[development] might entail. Elisa put
it perfectly: "Tech helps. People lead."
Antti Niemelä is Minister Counselor and
Head of Trade and Economic Affairs at the
Embassy of Finland in Washington, D.C.
Federal President Frank-Walter
Steinmeier and his wife Elke
Büdenbender visit the school
project 'Me & MyCity.'

MAY/JUNE 2019

https://cta.tech/i3

i3 - May/June 2019

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