Insights from Mohamed Zaki on the future of AI agents
Professor Mohamed Zaki, Deputy Director of the Cambridge Service Alliance, recently visited NHH to speak about the future of AI.
- There’s an AI Tool for Everything
This was how Professor Jesse Weltevreden summarized the situation when the research center DIG and researchers from Amsterdam presented the first comprehensive mapping of the Norwegian AI landscape.
Jesse Weltevreden from the Amsterdam University of Applied Sciences and his team at the organization RankmyAI have developed a method for mapping the use of AI in businesses and enterprises within a country or region. So far, they have mapped 25,000 AI tools globally—and that’s far from all of them.
Data Collection:
In Norway, they identified 350 services/companies where AI is a central and foundational technology. This was revealed when their report on the Norwegian AI landscape was presented on May 28 in Oslo.
Norwegian AI – the Best on Fish
The most successful AI companies in Norway are closely tied to well-known and important Norwegian industries, such as the seafood sector. It’s therefore not surprising that seven of the top 15 companies provide services related to monitoring and follow-up for the aquaculture industry.
Most of the companies ranked in the Norwegian AI landscape offer highly specialized services within a limited business market, which is also reflected in the low number of visitors to many of the websites that provide access to these services.
However, in fourth place is Keystone Education Group, which operates a platform for international student recruitment to higher education institutions.
“We Are Good at Adopting Technology”
Professor and head of the DIG research center, Bram Timmermans, says the report once again shows that a strength of Norwegian business is the willingness to adopt new technology.
“We are good at adopting technology. There is also a wide range of expertise among those who have established these companies, from both engineering and the humanities.”
Timmermans believes the key to growth lies in collaboration between AI companies and established, large Norwegian enterprises.
The AI Landscape Will Change Rapidly
This was the first report to show a landscape that is changing quickly. Among those looking forward to the next report is Professor Alexander Lundervold from NHH and the Western Norway University of Applied Sciences (HVL). In the discussion following the presentation, he emphasized that industries that must be developed domestically—such as defense technology—will likely have a much more prominent place in future editions of the report.
Among those who attended the presentation and discussion was the CEO of Abelia, the NHO’s association for knowledge and technology enterprises. He also stated that the next edition of this report will be exciting.
“This needs to be updated regularly, at both the industry and company level,” he said.
“Norway needs increased productivity in both the private and public sectors. Here we see concrete companies contributing to that,” he added.
He also pointed out that the report shows Norwegian AI companies are leading in niches and sectors where Norway already has strong industries, giving the country new pillars to build on.
