BackAnnual Forum 2025 – Building the Baltic Sea Region’s AI Future: From Hype to Real Impact
PA Innovation hosted a panel on the future of AI in the Baltic Sea Region at the EUSBSR Annual Forum, moderated by Ms. Katarzyna Tyczko from the Ministry of Science and Higher Education and a member of PA Innovation’s Steering Group. The panel brought together Astrid Valtna-Dvořák from Ministry of Economics and Communications, Henrikki Salo-Pöntinen from University of Jyväskylä, and Pjotr Senkus from Swedish-Polish Chamber of Commerce to discuss cross-border AI opportunities and challenges.
AI is changing how we deliver public services, empower businesses, and support citizens. The question is no longer if — but how we can fully utilise it to create tangible value.
In the Baltic Sea Region, our strength lies in collaboration. Each country brings something unique, but together we can build an attractive, resilient, and secure ecosystem. According to our panelists — to make that happen, we must integrate tech companies, share resources, and scale real solutions in the Baltic Sea Region, one use case at a time.
Mr. Senkus highlighted that the Baltic Sea Region has significant capacity. Sweden offers a mature startup ecosystem and a strong capital, Finland and Estonia provide world-class AI development and digital testbeds, Denmark excels at scaling and selling globally, Lithuania and Latvia are rapidly advancing in cybersecurity and FinTech, Germany’s northern industrial base adds muscle, and Poland contributes deep engineering talent that integrates it all. By combining these strengths, the region can achieve greater efficiency, scale, and impact than individual nations acting alone. Ms. Astrid Valtna-Dvorak stated, “Estonia’s and the Baltic Sea Region’s number one priority within the coming years is to integrate our tech enterprises deeply to the EU AI ecosystem. Everything we do in the region needs to be strongly integrated into that ecosystem. Our common goal in the Baltic Sea Region is to strengthen our resilience and competitiveness. To this end, we need to be adaptive and attractive for AI implementation. Our region needs to have strong infrastructure in place, interoperable cross-border services, implemented data standards as well as cross-border AI sandboxes.”
We’ve reached the peak of AI hype. Now it’s time for learning by doing — through innovation procurements, interoperable systems, and sandboxes that enable trustworthy AI. Mr.Senkus emphasized that AI initiatives should address actual business or public sector challenges rather than being technology-driven experiments, ensuring tangible value. Also, trust and transparency must remain our foundation. Europe can lead globally through ethical, human-centric innovation — embedding empathy and explainability into every AI system. According to Mr. Salo-Pöntinen, AI development should include the grassroots level, benefiting all stakeholders — including local communities, SMEs, and smaller organizations. He stated that people will only embrace AI if they understand how the systems work and know that safeguards are in place. Ethical design and explainable AI are essential for building confidence.
For SMEs and startups, AI is not about adopting tools — it’s about re-designing activities and processes. For youth, it’s about AI literacy and creativity. Let’s build a new AI narrative for the Baltic Sea Region — collaborative, open, and value-driven. Innovation begins with people. Technology will follow.
Securing the Future – Views from the Policy Area Coordinators
“Securing the Future – Views from the Policy Area Coordinators” publication consists of thematically focused articles that are aligned with the Strategy objectives and support informed discussion.
To read more about AI in the region, read the article “Unlocking the potential of AI in the Baltic Sea region: A path towards sustainable and inclusive transformation”.
Download the publication here.
More about the Annual Forum
- Securing the Future – Views from the Policy Area Coordinators
- Building the Baltic Sea Region’s AI Future: From Hype to Real Impact
- New Circular Economy Solutions: Perspectives to Circular Economy in a Panel Discussion
- Energy Transformation: pathways to Baltic Sea region‘s energy resilience
- The Soft Core of Hard Security: Community Cohesion and Agency in Times of Insecurity
- Routes That Resonate: Tourism and Culture as Bridges in the Baltic Sea Region
- Economy of Wellbeing of People: Building Sustainable Working Lives in the Baltic Sea Region
- Regions bordering Russian Federation and Belarus
- Beyond Borders: Turning Interreg Results into Policy Action
- Are Our Green Fuels Ready for Green Shipping Corridors?
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