Image: Tuomas Sauliala / Reaktor
The Elements of AI MOOC organised by FCAI and Reaktor awarded diplomas to the first graduates and received endorsement from the President of Finland in the graduation ceremony held 6 September 2018. With approximately 90 000 registered participants, it has become the most popular course ever at the University of Helsinki.
See write-up in the main Finnish daily Helsingin Sanomat (in Finnish): https://www.hs.fi/teknologia/art-2000005817486.html.
Professor Teemu Roos (FCAI, University of Helsinki) emphasised in his speech at the ceremony the societal implications AI technologies will bring—and how we should take them into account by making AI literacy accessible for everyone.
Roos says, ‘AI is not a matter of the future. It is really not a matter of robot uprisings, or transcending humanity. AI is a matter of the present day, every day. AI and algorithms have been woven into the digital fabric that connects us to each other and to the world at large. Communication and access to information has been greatly enhanced by technology.
Because of the great power in AI, we must make sure that the rules that determine how and for what purpose AI can be used are up to date and in line with what we think is right and just. In a democratic society, the power is with the people. This can only be true if the people have access to knowledge, so that they can take part in forming the rules through legislation.’
You can read Roos’s entire speech here.