Experimentation brings AI to life in Helsinki

Artificial intelligence (AI) offers potential benefits for cities such as greater efficiency but there are also risks and new challenges, from procurement to governance.

Such complexity can result in ‘analysis paralysis’ and stalled progress, or expensive investments that don’t pay off. Helsinki in Finland opts to cut through this by learning more about the possibilities, limitations and requirements of AI through rapid experimentation, sourcing ideas from employees throughout the city and trying them out in three-month sprints.

‘Learning by doing' through these experiments is an important part of finding out how new technology solutions work in practice, according to Ville Meloni, Pro...