VERGE | The AI Frontier: Creativity, Security & Collaboration
AI is no longer the future—it’s the battleground of today. As the world races to define the next era of innovation, where does Europe stand? More importantly, is Finland keeping up?
About this event
VERGE | The AI Frontier: Where potential meets reality in the global race for innovation
European positioning and Finland's strategic challenges take center stage at groundbreaking Helsinki summit
The convergence of artificial intelligence's most pressing questions — from governance and security to creativity and collaboration — brought together leading minds at Helsinki's VERGE summit, where experts tackled the fundamental question: Is Europe keeping pace in the global AI race?
"The famous ice hockey player Wayne Gretzky once said that you should not look at where the puck is now, but where the puck is going next," noted Kristo Lehtonen, Director of International Programmes at Sitra, in his opening keynote that set the tone for the day's discussions.
Beyond the chatbot: Mapping AI's evolutionary trajectory
As participants navigated the event's rich program, a clear theme emerged — AI has progressed far beyond simple chatbots, with its next evolution focusing on autonomous agents capable of orchestrating complex workflows across multiple systems.
Kalle Saarikannas from Microsoft Finland emphasized this progression, noting that "building specific agent AI capabilities for specific tasks makes things a lot easier and also kind of reduces hallucination." This highlighted the industry's shift toward specialized, domain-specific AI solutions designed to enhance productivity while minimizing errors.
The distinction between general-purpose AI and purpose-built solutions became increasingly apparent throughout the sessions. Participants learned how AI's true value emerges when tailored to specific industries and use cases, with demonstrations showing everything from real-time code generation to sophisticated meeting transcription services.
Governance as competitive advantage, not constraint
A particularly compelling narrative threaded through the event was the reframing of AI governance from regulatory burden to strategic asset. Bruna de Castro e Silva, AI Governance Specialist at Saidot, challenged conventional wisdom with her declaration that "AI governance is good business, actually. The better the governance, the higher the business value."
This perspective was reinforced during the security panel, where experts likened AI governance to "the base of the house. If your base is not right, then the house will not stand tall." The panel outlined how the EU's pioneering AI Act categorizes systems by risk level while working in concert with existing frameworks like GDPR.
Rather than viewing regulation as an innovation inhibitor, participants were encouraged to recognize how proper governance enhances customer loyalty, brand perception, and employee trust — ultimately delivering competitive advantage in increasingly scrutinized markets.
Human-AI collaboration: Redefining the workforce
The summit delved deeply into AI's transformative impact on work, with Antti Heino from SAS Finland observing that "AI is already incredibly powerful, but you have to remember that it's still in its infancy... In many usage areas, human oversight and control are really essential for making responsible decisions and actions using AI."
Experts agreed that while most professions will be affected by AI, augmentation rather than full automation will dominate the landscape. Presentations highlighted real-world ROI from AI implementations, with case studies demonstrating significant improvements in operational efficiency and customer satisfaction.
"They actually trust it more and seem to start using it more because they get more answers," explained Juha Sulkakoski, founder of Upseller, describing customer reactions to next-generation AI chatbots in service environments.
The physical frontier: When digital meets reality
In one of the summit's most forward-looking sessions, Topi Manu of Google took attendees on a journey from robotics to dolphin communication. "If we can talk to dolphins, I think it's a good manifestation that we can cross the boundaries between the physical world and AI," he observed, highlighting the expanding horizon of AI applications.
Demonstrations of real-time object recognition, image animation, and multi-modal reasoning capabilities showcased AI's growing ability to interpret and interact with the physical world in unprecedented ways.
From hype to implementation
The culminating panel discussion confronted the gap between AI hype and reality, with experts agreeing that "AI is only half of the coin; the other half is the data assets and systems you have. To get value from AI, the data part is crucial."
Panelists identified organizational inertia and communication challenges as significant barriers to adoption, emphasizing that successful AI implementation requires strong leadership, clear business value propositions, and integration into existing workflows.
As the event concluded, participants departed with a nuanced understanding of AI's current capabilities and limitations — armed with insights to navigate the complex interplay of technology, governance, and human factors that will determine success in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
Sessions