Can AI increase humanity in working life? Funding for two R&D projects

Funding was granted to the projects Artificial Intelligence Agency – Skills, Productivity and Well-being and AI and Equity in Work Communities (ReiluAI as in fair AI), which were launched in May.

According to Senior Researcher and Project Manager Anna Lahtinen, companies must take responsible use of AI seriously if they want to get real value from AI.

– Talk alone is not enough. Responsible AI requires practical tools. Our ReiluAI project offers work communities a way to reflect on their own rules and ensure that everyone is treated fairly in the utilisation of artificial intelligence, Lahtinen says.

The project will produce a web-based self-assessment tool, a handbook, and a series of podcasts and interviews to help workplaces adopt AI in a transparent and equal manner. Discussion will also take place on the SuomiAreena societal discussion festival. In addition to the Finnish Work Environment Fund, the project is funded by Trade Union Jyty, Consti, Danske Bank, Roschier and Akava.

The Artificial Intelligence Agency project develops competence in municipalities and wellbeing services counties

The Artificial Intelligence Agency – Skills, Productivity and Well-being project develops the competence of knowledge workers and supervisors in municipalities and wellbeing services counties in the utilisation of generative artificial intelligence. The participating municipalities are the cities of Heinola, Lahti, Kuopio and Porvoo, the municipality of Kärkölä, wellbeing services county of North Karelia Siun sote, Trade Union Jyty and Local Government and County Employers KT.

Surveys, participatory workshops and intermediate tasks will be refined into a model for AI agency and concrete recommendations for action, which will help strengthen agency, make everyday life smoother and strengthen well-being at work.

The project aims to ensure that the work community has a common vision of the use of artificial intelligence and the development of artificial intelligence agency.

– In order to make the most efficient use of the potential of artificial intelligence, it is extremely important to strengthen the artificial intelligence competence of the entire work community. Therefore, in this project, we will bring together the management and employees of municipal actors to define the goals and competence needs related to the use of artificial intelligence, says Merja Drake, Project Manager of the research project.

Both projects were launched in May and will continue until 2027. They create new openings for human-centred utilisation of artificial intelligence. Human-driven artificial intelligence is one of Haaga-Helia's research groups.