Irene Ek

PhD and leader of the AI portfolio - Swedish Agency for Growth Policy Analysis

Stakeholder TypeGovernment

ONE AI Member

Irene Ek has developed a two-year AI policy programme to inform the Swedish Ministry for Enterprise and Innovation. Her work focuses on evidence based public policy guidance to foster AI and digitalisation. She recently managed a ministry assignment on digitalisation throughout the economy, leading to reports such as Digital maturity in firms, Man, machine and the future of work and Digital competence – a foresight. She has also written the book Digitalisation in firms. Previously, Dr. Ek worked as Policy Analyst at OECD, under the Working Party for Technology and Innovation Policy, where she managed a project on innovation in services. Prior to OECD, Dr Ek was Programme Manager in the ICT department at the Swedish Innovation Agency, where she specialised in all aspects of digital service research. Her policy oriented competence has been proven during numerous international assignments as expert. Dr. Ek was appointed to the European Commission’s expert panel on Service innovation, and she currently holds the position of innovation expert to the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe. Dr. Ek has been appointed member to several board of directors and she holds a Ph.D. in Management from Stockholm University in Sweden.

Irene Ek's videos

AI diffusion in firms: what do we know and what does it mean for policy?

February 6, 2021–

60 mins

New and emerging applications of AI systems are proliferating, yet development, diffusion and use of AI technologies are still at a relatively early level of maturity across many countries and firms. This session aims to explore the current understanding and knowledge gaps on the dynamics and drivers of AI diffusion, the factors affecting diffusion and the type of AI used by firms. This will inform the development and implementation of a survey of AI use by business being carried out under the AI-WIPS project.

Irene Ek's documents

AI measurement in ICT usage surveys

This paper takes stock of official statistics on AI use in firms collected through ICT usage surveys. Its aim is to highlight statistically sound data that can be used to guide policymakers and other stakeholders in the complex field of AI. It provides a cross-country comparison of official AI measures in selected OECD countries and international organisations by reviewing the statistical AI definitions developed explicitly for measurement purposes as well as the AI questions in official ICT use surveys. Based on the results of these surveys, the paper provides an international comparison of AI uptake among firms. It also includes a brief overview of smaller-scale non-official measures of AI, which can complement official statistics. In its final part, it makes an initial attempt to match AI policy with the AI measures previously analysed, and highlights possible next steps. This paper is also a contribution to the OECD AI Policy Observatory.— March 1, 2021

AI diffusion in Sweden

February 12, 2021

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