A Fertile Soil for AI? Defense AI in Sweden

• Published in: The Very Long Game p. 107
• Main Author: Finlan, Alastair
• Format: Book Chapter
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland Springer 2024
• Series: Contributions to Security and Defence Studies
• Subjects: Defencse AI; Krigsvetenskap; Sweden; War Studies
• ISBN: 3031586484; 9783031586484
• DOI: 10.1007/978-3-031-58649-1

Sweden is well positioned to develop AI for civil and military applications because of bold strategic initiatives by the government and private foundations. The fertility of the Swedish AI soil for defense applications is though dependent on what is nurtured now in the face of competing priorities including the revitalization of its armed forces, looming NATO membership and the resurrection of the total defense concept. Sweden’s long intellectual interest in AI makes this high-tech Nordic nation with a flair for engineering achievements very suited for Fourth Industrial Revolution developments. Sweden’s culturally-infused and porous civil military relations have an unusual intimacy that bodes well for defense AI. It encourages the interflow of ideas, initiative, and technologies across and within these sectors. Sweden’s official recognition in 2018 of the importance of AI brought the government into alignment with the influential private sector. The Wallenberg AI, Autonomous Systems, and Software Program (WASP) initiative is stimulating the higher education sector with essential funding for AI technologies and future generations of researchers. Sweden now possesses one of the most advanced supercomputers in Europe, which is an important national asset in the Swedish AI ecosystem. Sweden’s advanced military industry already employs defense AI systems with Saab at the forefront of sensor plus AI innovations. The take-up of defense AI in the Swedish armed forces is modest but growing. It is underpinned by strong conceptual work by the Swedish Defense Research Agency that suggests more substantial future engagement. The accession to NATO is also likely to open even more pathways for defense AI cooperation. The foundations for defense AI developments are very apparent in Sweden and the future is potentially very bright.