Finding the balance between humans and machines.
Sweden at a Crossroads: Navigating the AI Revolution
Sweden stands at a crossroads. While the world races forward with AI development, we risk falling behind due to hesitation and slow decision-making processes. At the same time, we see warning signs of what happens when one rushes too quickly – the risk of automating away both innovation and jobs. Both paths lead astray. But there is an alternative that no one is talking about.
Let’s start with the first problem. While Swedish organizations discuss risk assessments and wait for perfect regulations, our international competitors are already building tomorrow’s businesses with AI tools. A report from Boston Consulting Group shows that only 18% of Swedish knowledge workers use generative AI every week, compared to 61% on average globally. This is already alarming when the technology is still centered around AI chatbots.
But rushing blindly forward is not the answer either. An example of the challenges of the automation trap is Klarna, which invested early in AI and plans to reduce its workforce by half to approximately 2,000 employees. But in February of this year, their CEO wrote on X that “in a world with AI, nothing is more important than people” – an insight that points to the real risks of pure automation.
The automation trap creates fragile organizations. When something unexpected happens – and it always does – the human ability to improvise, adapt, and find new solutions or innovations is lacking. But the consequences extend far beyond the walls of companies. If we choose the automation path – where the goal is to replace people – these upheavals risk becoming devastating. But if we choose augmentation, new jobs can instead be created and roles where people work together with AI. As Stanford researcher Erik Brynjolfsson has pointed out, success is not about choosing between man and machine, but about finding the right balance between both.
Over the past two years, we have worked with hundreds of Swedish organizations and trained thousands of employees to work together with AI. We have seen companies save as much as 95% of the time for critical business processes when experienced employees work together with AI agents. This in turn opens up for completely new ways of working and creating value. From our work in the field, we see three crucial success factors:
- Match every AI investment with skills development.
The organizations that succeed best invest as much in people as in technology. Experienced employees who master AI multiply their productivity without giving up control – they free up time from routine work to focus on problem-solving, strategic decisions, and relationships. - Start in the business, with IT as a partner.
Success comes when those who know the job best get to experiment with AI tools. IT plays an important role in providing secure access to the best tools, but the best solutions arise when business expertise meets technical opportunity. - Give users insight and control.
Show how AI tools work and let employees adapt them to their needs. When people understand and can influence their tools, they dare to use them creatively. Transparency creates trust and innovation.
But the efforts of companies are not enough. We need a broad national discussion about how Sweden should navigate the AI revolution:
- How should the public sector approach AI augmentation?
- What role should the social partners play in the transition?
- How do we ensure that no one is left behind as the pace increases?
- What is required on the education side to equip the next generation?
- How do we create regulatory frameworks that both protect and enable?
These are questions we do not have all the answers to – but which we must answer together. Sweden has all the prerequisites to lead this development. We have a tradition of combining technological innovation with strong humanistic values. We have a culture of collaboration between the social partners and we have companies and employees who are used to change.
But we must act now, the time for hesitation is over. It’s time we stop talking about what AI can do to us – and start building what we can do together with AI.
Nils Janse, Co-founder Abundly AI
Henrik Kniberg, Co-founder Abundly AI
Jonas Tellander, Chairman Abundly AI
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