CMI kutsuu sinut keskustelemaan tekoälystä ja rauhasta | To 3.9. klo 17–18, Akola, Ii

Welcome to the Akola Forum

Can Technology Build Trust? Opportunities and Risks in the Age of AI

Thursday, 3 September 2026
17:00–18:00
Akola, Kuivuri, Ii

Kindly register here by 2 September 2026

Akola Forum in collaboration with CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation and Oulu2026 invite friends of peace and technology in the Oulu region to discuss the themes of listening and trust-building in the age of AI. The event is organised in Ii on 3 September.

Artificial intelligence and digital technologies are increasingly shaping the conditions in which peace, trust and social cohesion are built and sustained. While digital technologies and AI can fuel misinformation, polarisation and declining trust, they also create new possibilities for dialogue and understanding across divides.

At the same time, AI is transforming the information environment itself. As convincing text, images, audio, and video can be generated at scale, the challenge is increasingly how people determine what and whom to trust. This raises important questions about the role of journalism, public institutions, technology platforms and other intermediaries in maintaining a shared sense of reality.

The dialogue will start with a panel discussion with leading voices from peacebuilding, technology, human rights, and journalism exploring how emerging technologies are reshaping trust, dialogue and the information environment. The overall aim is to provide a platform for informed discussion across different perspectives on questions such as can technology help us understand perspectives different from our own – or does it increasingly reinforce existing divisions? How do we know what and whom to trust in an age of generative AI? And what can be done to ensure that technological change strengthens, rather than undermines, our capacity for dialogue and peaceful coexistence? 

Panelists

• Sam Gregory, Award winning technologist and researcher, former Executive Director of the global human rights organisation WITNESS
• Christine Bell, Author of PeaceTech: Digital Transformation to End Wars, Emeritus Professor of Constitutional Law
• Laura Saarikoski, Journalist, President of Helsingin Sanomat Foundation
• Marko Ahtisaari, Chair of Board, CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation

Moderator

• Johanna Poutanen, Head of Inclusion and Digital Innovation, CMI – Martti Ahtisaari Peace Foundation

The event is organised at Akolan kuivuri, Virkkulantie 88, 91100 Ii, Finland. 

Kindly note that the event will be held in English. If you have any questions, comments, or encounter any problems when registering for the event do not hesitate to reach out henna.levola@cmi.fi.

The Akola Kuivuri venue does not have its own parking area. Cars can be parked at the Pohjois-Ii School parking lot (Virkkulantie 27), approximately 600 metres from the venue.