What Happens When You Give Millions of People Free Access to AI?
Hundreds of millions of people worldwide use generative AI chatbots. Tens of millions of us pay for access to premium versions of those products — at least 20 million pay for ChatGPT, according to an OpenAI spokesperson.
But a clutch of countries, including one in Europe, are flipping the equation, offering access to AI tools at a population level in the belief that it can kickstart their economy and improve tech literacy.
The furthest along is Sweden, where a homegrown champion is offering AI access to around a quarter of the population through a foundation established at a summit in Stockholm earlier this year by tech investors Olof Hernell and Nicklas Berild Lundblad, and tech founder Joel Hellermark.
Sweden’s AI Reform initiative is co-funded by Sana Labs, Hellermark’s AI unicorn, recently purchased by HR software company Workday for a reported $1.1 billion. The company has matched 12 million Swedish krone ($1.3 million) of private donations to fund access to Sana’s AI agent and chatbot for public sector workers, teachers, students, non-profits and research institutions in Sweden.
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