NOVA Day: A world shaped by AI
Is it typically Norwegian to be mediocre? Would NVIDIA have survived in Norway, and does AI have a positioning problem? These were some of the topics experts addressed at NOVA Day 2025.
To the sound of a packed ballroom at Hotel Bristol and wearing a t-shirt with the iconic Windows 95 logo, Morten Blomfeldt, customer manager at Epinova, welcomed everyone to the technology conference NOVA Day.
For the third year in a row, NOVA Consulting Group gathered leaders, technology experts, industry professionals, and decision-makers from across the country to discuss technology development from a societal perspective. And this year's theme was, perhaps not surprisingly, AI.
Does AI have a positioning problem?
Whether we like it or not, we live in a world influenced by AI. We are in the midst of a technological revolution where artificial intelligence is changing the way we do business. AI presents new challenges but also enormous opportunities.
The question is; what do we do, and how do we thrive in the new digital age?
The million-dollar question everyone at Bristol would love to have the answer to, but no one quite knows how to answer. Tobias Brandt, Brand Strategy Director at Singular Studios, shared his thoughts from the stage at NOVA Day. He was clear that he believes the key for many companies lies in combining traditional values with new opportunities. A combination he believes far too few companies take advantage of.
- AI has a slight positioning problem. Many are afraid of the development and choose to "sabotage" the rise of AI rather than take advantage of the opportunities that lie in the technology. Especially in creative industries, the negativity is great. Instead of being so focused on the weaknesses of AI, I wish more companies would look at the opportunities available. No, AI is not always the best, but in many cases, it does a job and delivers on what it should.
A good brand strategy is important
He highlights Coca-Cola's AI version of the traditional Christmas commercial launched in 2024 as a good example of how to combine traditional values with new opportunities.
The campaign was, not surprisingly, criticized in creative circles, but among ordinary people, no one seemed to care that it was AI-generated. In fact, the underlying data showed that the AI version performed better than the previous editions.
- The truth is that few cared that the ducks had three legs, that the people were not real, and so on. What people saw, however, was a brand they recognized. The film delivered exactly what it was supposed to, and Coca-Cola produced it at a fraction of the cost.
According to Brandt, the Coca-Cola campaign is a prime example of how a good brand strategy is becoming more and more important with the rise of AI. AI must be based on something, as he says.
The worst thing you can do is let AI make something up, but if you let AI start from an already strong brand, there are many opportunities. It's about using AI's strengths, not weaknesses. If we combine AI with a good brand strategy, we can achieve something unique and valuable.
AI is full of errors
Nathalie Nahai has for many years helped companies like Google, Accenture, and Harvard Business Review navigate the increasingly digitized world. She is one of the world's leading voices in AI, technology, human behavior, and ethics.
When she took the stage at NOVA Day, she talked about AI as a powerful tool, but also a tool full of errors.
- On one hand, AI can make completely accurate diagnoses and solve challenges like cancer treatment, but on the other hand, AI cannot handle simple tasks like creating an image of a person writing with their left hand or drawing a clock with the correct time, says Nahai.
Trust is a challenge
These simple small errors that keep recurring are something that affects people's trust. This is something companies must take seriously and keep in mind.
- Trust is alpha and omega between a brand and a customer, and is usually built on authenticity. If you try to replace this authenticity with AI, it can have a negative impact. Used correctly, however, AI can be an enrichment.
She then provided five examples of what she believes can be the right use of AI:
- Notes: No one takes notes like AI
- Summarization and restructuring: Saves you a lot of time
- Translations: Does 90 percent of the work for you
- For variation and quantity: Give AI your starting point and voilà, you get many different variants
- Use AI where you are an expert: Many use AI for what they don't know, but rather use AI for what you do know, then it's easier to assess the quality and actually save time.
- It's simply about being more critical of how you use AI and using it a bit smarter.
Typically Norwegian to be mediocre?
"It is typically Norwegian to be good," said Gro Harlem Brundtland in her New Year's speech in 1992. The football girls, handball girls, ski guys, and the Oslo Philharmonic had asserted themselves at the top of the world for several years, and now it was Norwegian business's turn to assert itself internationally.
But how has it really gone since Brundtland's famous quote in the early 90s, and perhaps more importantly; how is Norway doing today?
To start with the positive. Brundtland was not wrong. Norway has been good, and the growth in Norwegian business has been fantastic since 1992. But something has happened in recent years. The development has stalled, and we no longer perform at the high level we once did.
In a world characterized by digital development and green transition, Norway has stalled while the countries around have accelerated. The director of business policy at Abelia, Kjartan Almenning, described Norway's ability to adapt as 'mediocre' when he spoke at NOVA Day.
He addressed the transformation barometer which shows that Norway performs weakly compared to other comparable countries. Especially in innovation and entrepreneurship, Norway is far behind.
- The biggest challenge for the Norwegian economy is not a lack of capital, stability, or governance. In these areas, Norway scores well. The problem is that we are too dependent on energy extraction - particularly oil and gas, and that we have a chronic underinvestment in research, innovation, and scalable technology sectors, says Almenning.
His message was simple:
- The transformation must be driven by businesses that make money from knowledge and technology - not just those that extract and sell energy.
He believes that even though Norway still scores high on governance, access to education, and social inclusion, these strengths hide a deeper vulnerability: namely the lack of a diversified and innovation-driven economy.
Compared to our Nordic neighbors, Norway is falling behind. Denmark performs better than Norway in all areas of the barometer. Finland and Sweden are increasing their investments in research and development, and even Iceland is pulling ahead when it comes to green investment strategy.
Almenning would have liked to see us be more inspired by our neighbors.
NVIDIA would not have survived in Norway
- In our neighboring countries, they are good at investing in private startups and promoting innovation and entrepreneurship, while we in Norway are stuck in the past, where investments are made in real estate and old industries rather than new opportunities, says Almenning.
To illustrate what Almenning believes is a lack of willingness to change, he showed a picture of the research intensity among the 30 largest companies in the Nordics by market value. This clearly shows that Norwegian companies invest little of their revenue in research and development.
- In Sweden, Denmark, and Finland, large private companies have a culture of investing in innovation and entrepreneurship. In Norway, however, we are characterized by large state-owned companies where the surplus goes into the state budget instead of R&D investments.
Finally, he gave a slight jab to the Norwegian authorities, which he believes do too little to facilitate the success of tech companies in Norway.
- A recently published NTNU report shows that NVIDIA would not have survived in Norway. It's a thought-provoking point, says Almenning.
We must break out of technological passivity
The last person on stage at NOVA Day was author, speaker, and astrophysicist, Eirik Newth. He took the audience on a journey through technological development, from the mid-80s to today.
He talked about how technology has become crucial in societal development and how so-called tech oligarchs have gained more and more power.
- We have made ourselves dependent on American technology and given tech oligarchs far too much power. It is critically important that we break out of the technological passivity that characterizes Norway and many other countries.
