The Nordic countries represent the group of countries in Northern Europe and include Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Finland and associated territories. These regions can be the leader in digital technology when Artificial Intelligence, automation and robotics take over the tasks from humans. Automation and AI are reshaping the way organizations and companies do business. But this is dependent on the Nordic governments. These technologies are already playing a big role in various sectors, including finance, healthcare and retail. Digitalization makes the service more transparent and efficient. Most profitable businesses in the world are already using Artificial Intelligence for distributing a range of products and services to the people.
McKinsey wrote a report on how AI and automation will affect the future of work in Nordics. They estimate that 40 percent of working hours in the Nordic region may be automated if existing technology alone is adopted. AI and automation will have a bigger impact on the Nordic workforce as they can provide predictions in detail that will not be possible for humans. We can see more and more organizations adopting AI, automation and robotics and shaping their business models around them in the future. They will have to enhance their systems, investments and capabilities and be ready for the future.
Artificial Intelligence represents a graph that makes winners and losers. For example, McKinsey study shows that companies, who adopt the technology earlier could double the cash flow compared to those who have not adopted the technologies by 2030. So, companies and organizations are not investing because of the advantages the technologies give but because they don’t want to miss out on the opportunities and advantages against their competition.
Research for a report from McKinsey suggests that when AI techniques are applied, it can unlock approximately $80 billion in value for Nordics and this is equivalent to two to three percentage point uplift of profit margin.
McKinsey’s research on the effect of AI and automation on Nordic businesses give us many insights. Businesses in the Nordics are positioned well to scale Artificial Intelligence and bring innovation in their domains. Nordic businesses have everything in place that will help them in scaling, including agile, motivated and flexible employees. Artificial Intelligence has the ability to unlock value potential and only those will excel who can adopt the technologies early. Companies, which adopt the technologies early, will have higher profit margin percentage points than the industry average.
However, for all this to happen, the Nordic governments have to start at the earliest or they will lose the advantage of a digital head start. The companies in the Nordics are in a dilemma, some of them are experimenting and only a few are scaling up. Due to this, they are not able to use AI to innovate and work efficiently. However, Nordics can still generate momentum as they have all the necessary aspects, such as technical knowledge, workforce, workplace cultures,
etc. Based on their goals, market and resources, the leaders in Nordics have to use the opportunity and work towards the betterment of society.