Human-AI interactions (co-learning, co-working, co-creating) are becoming a cultural condition, thus having a profound and far-reaching impact on educational institutions, workplaces, and society at large. To unleash AI's full potential for learning, work, and democratic participation in society. It is crucial to approach its development and use with caution and critically evaluate it strengths, limitations, and impact. It is just this that the proposed centre AI LEARN (Artificial Intelligence for the Empowerment of Human Learning) will address from interdisciplinary perspectives, multisectoral collaboration, and active stakeholder involvement.

Professor Barbara Wasson, Director for the Centre for the Science of Learning & Technology (SLATE), University of Bergen, and Professor Michalis Giannakos, from the Department of Computer Science and head of the Learner-Computer Interaction (LCI) lab at NTNU, have led the development of the AI LEARN application to the Research Council of Norway’s call for national AI Centres. 

Wasson explains that “AI tools and systems are already deeply intertwined with, and embedded into, the economic and social fabric, transforming the way humans communicate, inform themselves, learn, and work. In AI LEARN, we advocate the use of AI to empower human learning, and this requires that we explore and develop new understandings of hybrid intelligence, multiagent ecosystems, agency, and capacity building, as well as developing responsible AI systems to support human learning."

The potential of AI to enhance expert work by supporting decision-making, automating routine tasks, and fostering innovation to solve complex problems has become increasingly evident. However, AI also introduces significant risks, such as the loss of agency and intentionality, the erosion of human expertise, ethical concerns, and the potential for over reliance on automated systems. The emerging paradigm of hybrid intelligence (HI) presents a promising approach to address these challenges by striking a balance between mitigating the negative impacts of AI disruption and supporting learners’ and workers’ re-skilling and upskilling in a world of growing societal challenges. 

Giannakos explains that “HI seeks to bridge the gap between human intelligence and AI by creating sociotechnical ensembles that outperform humans or machines working independently.” In other words, HI aims to combine the strengths of humans and machines through their coevolutionary processes to collaborate, learn from, and reinforce each other. 

AI LEARN will address the complexity of hybrid intelligence by conducting theoretical and empirical work on how humans interact with AI and by developing interdisciplinary insights and knowledge to foster responsible and trustworthy human-AI interactions aligned with Nordic socio-cultural values. Creating frameworks for designing and evaluating human-AI interaction models and critically interrogating new emerging moral and ethical dilemmas in the context of hybrid intelligence will drive sustainable innovation and pave the way for democratic participation in the evolving AI society. 

Consortium

Wasson and Giannakos have brought together two of the largest universities in Norway and built a consortium of 30 partners from academia and the private and public sectors to address societal issues, technology advancements, governance, and capacity building in the use of AI to empower human learning. AI LEARN comprises 10 academic partners (5 Norwegian universities, 3 international universities, and 2 Norwegian university colleges), 4 national centres, 8 public sector and 8 private sector partners, an international network of academic partners and a nationwide stakeholder network.

Three partners explain why they chose to join AI LEARN:

‍Vestfold fylkeskommune has been an early adopter of new technologies and invested substantial resources in the development of technology-integrated practices within education, public health, and culture. It was quick to recognise the transformative potential of generative AI, as well as implications for individuals’ rights to data protection and the fundamental rights and freedoms impacted by AI. Digital advisor Alexander Joyce explains that “Vestfold County council sees AI LEARN as an arena advancing a shared understanding of the interplay between human potential, learning, and artificial intelligence, that is grounded in a Nordic perspective on societal norms, linguistic and cultural diversity, and democratic citizenship. AI LEARN represents a field of study encompassing central tenets of an open and inclusive approach to societal, organisational and individual development, as a means of affecting institutional change along a democratic continuum.” If funded, Joyce will serve as co-leader of a task on governance and management infrastructure for high-risk AI systems in learning contexts and the Sandbox for Novel Technology Testing.

CEO Yngve Lindvig of private sector partner LearnLab AS says that “AI LEARN provides a unique opportunity for us to advance our technology and approaches, expand our reach, and even find new customers. Through collaboration, we aim to leverage expertise from partners and gain access to state-of-the-art and rigorous evaluation methods that will allow us to better understand how to design and implement AI functionalities with the goal of supporting teachers’ skills and enhancing students’ learning outcomes and competencies.”

Digital Norway is a non-profit organization led by 20 prominent Norwegian actors from various sectors, uniting to shape Norway's digital future and one of five fully operational Digital Innovation Hubs (DIHs) in Norway. Head of Competence and Innovation Dr. Annita Fjuk explains that “joining AI LEARN directly aligns with our strategy to advance AI skills nationwide. This partnership enables us to provide state-of-the-art AI education and learning, empowering Norwegian businesses to integrate AI technologies effectively into their operations. In particular, we are interested in enhancing the understanding of how to equip leaders with the knowledge and strategies necessary to navigate the challenges of an AI-driven economy by fostering data-, algorithmic-, and AI-literacy in both educational and workplace contexts.”

‍