Minister for Digital Government at AU: "We need human intelligence to harness artificial intelligence"

Minister for Digital Government, Caroline Stage Olsen (Moderates), visited Aarhus University and Incuba Next on Monday afternoon to debate artificial intelligence with the university's students and staff.

The debate was titled 'Din fremtid med kunstig intelligens – hvilke typer jobs forsvinder og hvilke opstår?’ (Your future with artificial intelligence - which jobs will disappear and which will emerge?, red.)

"If Alex Vanopslagh had his way, my job would be the first to go," the minister began, referring to the Liberal Alliance party leader, who earlier this year proposed closing down the Ministry of Digital Government.

She went on to stress that while artificial intelligence will have a significant impact on the labour market, including potentially taking over certain administrative tasks, there will also be a growing demand for workers who are capable of using and developing artificial intelligence.

"We need to use people more wisely than we have done so far, and artificial intelligence has a role to play in this," said the minister, referring to how artificial intelligence can take over trivial administrative tasks, for example.

"We need to do it wisely. It takes human intelligence to harness the artificial," said the minister, who also suggested that a STEM (science, technology, engineering and maths, red.) education might not be a bad educational choice in these times.

Digital independence from the US

In her presentation, Caroline Stage Olsen also addressed the technological dependence on the US that Denmark and Europe find themselves in – and which, given the current tension between the US and Europe, calls for action. While the US and China have long invested in the development of artificial intelligence, Europe is lagging behind, the minister said:

"But we have come together, and we now understand the situation; that we are lagging behind," said the minister and pointed to three things Denmark and Europe should prioritise to achieve a stronger position: capabilities, clear frameworks, and competitiveness.

The debate was moderated by Professor Ole Sejer Iversen, Head of both the National Knowledge Centre for Digital Literacy and the Centre for Computational Thinking & Design. The panel also included Professor Kaj Grønbæk, head of the Department of Computer Science, and Anja Bechmann, professor of media studies and leader of DATALAB – the Centre for Digital Social Research, and SHAPE – Shaping Digital Citizenship.

Anja Bechmann also addressed the current risk situation and the need for greater digital independence in her question to the minister, calling for insight into how the issue is being tackled at the EU level. She emphasised that artificial intelligence is part of a broader technological ecosystem, ranging from cloud solutions to social media platforms, where American dominance currently prevails. However, according to the professor, there is a clear need for a stronger European infrastructure.

In her response, the minister addressed the discussion on whether a European social media platform should be developed as an alternative to the American ones.

"Is there a need for a European social media platform? Yes, I believe there is – but it must be operated on commercial terms, not as a European state-run media," the minister replied, adding:

“If we don’t like the American model, which model do we then envision, if not a subsidised one? That's what we need to answer, and that requires that we all support the platform – not just politicians, but also public authorities and the media."

Thomas Riisgaard Hansen, director of DIREC – Digital Research Centre Denmark, referred to the 50 billion Danish kroner recently allocated by the government to the defence and emphasised the urgent need for investment in digital infrastructure for security reasons.

"Some things are too important to be left in the hands of private companies and we are trying to reclaim what we consider critical infrastructure. I am convinced that some of the funds allocated to defence are also earmarked for cybersecurity and hybrid warfare," the minister replied.

Why cut back on education when specialised skills are in demand?

Jacob Linaa Jensen, associate professor in media studies, addressed the paradox that the government, together with a number of coalition parties, has passed the Master's reform, which reduces both the length of education and the number of Master's programmes at a time when there is a growing need for highly specialised labour – the kind that universities provide:

"As far as I know, we are the only country in the world that is cutting back on education," he said.

The minister began by saying that it had not been an easy job for her fellow minister and party colleague, Minister for Education and Science Christina Egelund, to implement the reform:

“The reform is also intended to foster more in-depth teaching. It’s not just about cuts to education; it also focuses on lifelong learning, which is something I personally think is wise," said Caroline Stage Olsen, who later emphasised that the reform is a result of a compromise between the parties behind the agreement.

Later in the debate, Kaj Grønbæk pointed out that Europe lags far behind both the US and China when it comes to educating graduates in STEM subjects:

“In just a year and a half, China produces more STEM graduates than Denmark has people. We can't cut back on Master’s programmes in Denmark," he emphasised.

Reinforced Thoughts 

While the staff showed the strongest interest in the debate, the discussion gave some of the students in attendance plenty to reflect on. Among them were Mathias Sørensen, Carl Vestbo, and Job Ehrich, all in their sixth semester of Digital Design (BA).

"I think the debate provided an interesting insight into how complex this field is and how artificial intelligence is handled at the political level," said Job Ehrich.

He also mentioned that he would use the debate to guide his decision on which Master's programme to choose.

“Hearing both the minister and other debate participants mention how in-demand candidates with expertise in artificial intelligence are only reinforced the thoughts I’ve been having."

This text is machine translated and post-edited by Cecillia Jensen.