From AI use to competitiveness

Yesterday I took part in TEK Norway's «The state of artificial intelligence» during Arendalsuka.

Nicolai Tangen set the tone in his opening remarks. Not giving employees the AI tools they need, he compared to running a five-kilometre race without poles.

He also argued for mandatory training, because those who want it least are often those who need it most. And perhaps most importantly: if organisations fall a few years behind, the consequence can be lost competitiveness.

Figures from IT i praksis show that perceived value realisation from AI in the public sector increased from 39% in 2025 to 54% in 2026.

But that is also where the challenge lies ❗

The gains are still largely captured at individual employee level. Only when better quality, freed time and productivity are built into work processes and systematised at enterprise level do we really begin to scale the value.

At the same time, another barrier became clear: trust in AI is low. Morten Goodwin pointed out that more experience can also increase scepticism. Scaling therefore requires transparency, quality assurance and human involvement.

Norway is good at adopting technology, but weaker than Sweden and Denmark on commercialisation. Reference was made among other things to fewer patents and start-ups, lower investment and fewer choosing AI-related education paths.

Norway's challenge is therefore increasingly not access to technology. It is execution capability and commercialisation.

For me this points to a clear shift:

💥 From testing AI to industrialising AI.

Then it is not just about technology. Processes, organisation, ownership, competence, trust and measurement must develop at the same time. AI only creates value when the technology changes how the organisation works, prioritises and delivers.

And here I believe in-house competence becomes decisive.

External consultants and technology partners will remain important. But the organisation must own the priorities, decisions and learning itself. If critical AI competence sits only externally, you can buy speed without building lasting execution capability.

It is not about consultants or in-house. It is about which competence the organisation must own itself, where external specialist expertise gives the greatest effect, and having enough buyer competence to demand documented value.

That is also much of the thinking behind my work on AI Transformation & Value Realization, which helps organisations prioritise the right initiatives, bring them into operations, scale what works and follow impact through to documented value.

The AI strategy is not finished when the technology is chosen.

That is when the leadership job really begins.

👉 How many Norwegian organisations do you think are set up for that part?

#ArtificialIntelligence #DigitalTransformation #TechnologyLeadership #Commercialisation #Strategy