SPOT Nordic Annual Meeting 2025: Artificial Intelligence, Ethics, and the Future of Work and Education

On September 13, 2025, the historic Uppsala Castle in Sweden hosted the most ambitious edition yet of the SPOT Nordic Annual Meeting, under the theme: “Artificial Intelligence – Ethics, Challenges, and the Future of Work and Education.”

The event brought together an exceptional community of researchers, entrepreneurs, policymakers, students, and institutional partners from the Nordic countries and Portugal, reinforcing the role of science diplomacy as a strategic axis of international cooperation.

The opening session featured remarks by David Pereira de Castro, President of SPOT Nordic, and Marta Lopes, Head of Mission at the Embassy of Portugal in Sweden. The message was clear: AI is more than a tool — it is a system of power that profoundly shapes how we learn, work, and organize society.

The first panel, “AI: How to Balance Regulation and Innovation?”, featured insights from:

• Gonçalo Saraiva Matias, Minister for State Reform (Portugal), who emphasized the need to simplify before digitalizing, advocating for a pro-innovation regulatory approach;

  
  

• Prof. Virginia Dignum, Responsible AI expert from Umeå University, who argued that innovation and regulation must go hand in hand, with fairness, transparency, and accountability at the core;

• Prof. Pedro Oliveira, Dean at Nova SBE and Professor at Copenhagen Business School, who proposed a scientific model of experimentation and testing regulation;

• Andreas Larsson, CEO of STUNS and Chair of the Uppsala Innovation Centre, who brought the Nordic innovation ecosystem’s perspective, highlighting the role of SMEs and startups in creating agile solutions.

The next roundtable, “How Does AI Shape the Future of Education and the Labour Market?”, moderated by Sérgio Dias (SPOT Nordic), featured:

• Susanna Coghlan, from Quidgest, who warned against uncritical automation and emphasized the importance of critical thinking and human oversight;

• Niclas Stjernberg, CEO of Uppsala Innovation Centre, who stressed the need to integrate social and ethical skills into education models;

• Prof. Mats Daniels, Uppsala University, who asked, “What should future graduates really know?”—urging a rethink of curricula in an AI-driven world.

During the Pitch Time, SPOT Nordic members shared their work with AI in Sweden, including:

• Prof. André Teixeira (Uppsala University), on information systems and applied AI;

• Gabriel Campos (Zenseact), on AI in automotive safety;

• Prof. Iolanda Leite (KTH Royal Institute of Technology), on robotics, perception, and learning.

We were also honored to receive a video message from Swedish State Secretary Maria Nilsson, reinforcing Sweden’s commitment to ethical and inclusive AI and highlighting the importance of Nordic–Portuguese collaboration.

Key takeaways from the event included:

• The urgent need to rethink educational skills, integrating ethics, critical thinking, and human–AI collaboration;

• The importance of using regulation as an economic development tool, not just a constraint on innovation;

• A recognition that Portugal and its Nordic partners have a key role in building fairer and more inclusive AI governance models;

• The strategic potential of the Portuguese scientific diaspora to foster partnerships, bridge institutions, and anticipate global challenges.

The closing session featured reflections from Pedro Oliveira and Ana Catarina Araújo Silva, Vice-President of SPOT Nordic, who reminded us that science diplomacy must go beyond concepts, it must become practice, and that Portugal should take a leading role in this agenda.

We extend our deepest gratitude to all our partners, without whom this event would not have been possible: Embassy of Portugal in Sweden, FCT (Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology), Quidgest, and Rikssalstiftelsen Uppsala Slott. To our sponsors: Xperience Stockholm, Acaza, The First Impression Company, Desider AB, Next Agents, and Graham's Port, and the Portuguese associations Ung FAPS and Lusitânia APE, thank you for supporting the Portuguese community in the Nordics and believing in the power of science and collaboration.

This was a defining moment for SPOT Nordic, a day of connection, learning, and future-building that brought together around 100 participants.

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