Season’s Greetings 2024 from FCAI
Artificial intelligence is no doubt now in the mainstream. From the proliferation of AI tools to this year’s Nobel Prizes in physics and chemistry that were grounded in machine learning research, the profile and significance of our field has never been greater. It is therefore a fitting time to announce that ELLIS Institute Finland will be launching in early 2025, with the backing of the Finnish government, a private donor, and numerous universities and RDI organizations in Finland.
Photo by Mira Kemppainen on Unsplash
This joint effort will have a multiplicative effect on AI development and deployment across academia, industry and the public sector, and will bolster European sovereignty as competition becomes ever tighter. ELLIS Institute Finland will continue a tradition of fundamental AI research while expanding collaboration with companies, building up an attractive AI ecosystem and harnessing the dynamism of the ELLIS network. We look forward to welcoming new outstanding colleagues when recruitment for ELLIS Institute principal investigator positions opens in early 2025.
Other nationwide initiatives are also enhancing AI expertise. The Finnish Doctoral Program Network in Artificial Intelligence kicked off with a bang this year, attracting over 3000 applications for 100 positions across ten Finnish universities. Two cohorts have now started (or are about to start) their three-year PhD journey, with mobility, co-supervision and company collaboration as key features of this accelerated doctoral pilot. FCAI’s Arno Solin, who is directing the AI Doctoral Program, was also chosen by AI Finland as AI Researcher of the Year, a well-deserved award!
This fall, the UN Secretary-General’s Advisory Body on Artificial Intelligence issued its recommendations for global AI governance. FCAI vice-director, professor Petri Myllymäki was one of only three advisors from Europe who participated in this work throughout 2024. For his endeavors in international and European AI policy, including heading the public and corporate relations work for ELLIS, Petri was duly lauded as Thought Leader of the Year by AI Finland.
As the year winds down, it is of course time for the major conference in our field, NeurIPS. This year may be a record, with 38 presentations from Finland, the majority from FCAI researchers. In addition, FCAI’s position paper on how artificial intelligence can accelerate science through virtual laboratories has been published, and software development is on pace.
Finally, I extend heartfelt thanks to the entire FCAI community, who have this year excelled in their research, truly come together for important national and international initiatives such as the doctoral program and the ELLIS Institute, and demonstrated once again that Finland can punch above its weight when it comes to AI research and development.