Topic
Technology
Commentary
The European Democracy Shield (EUDS) is being prepared to bolster the continent’s democratic resilience. If it isn’t to become one of innumerable democracy initiatives, EU institutions need to be clear-sighted about the causes and stakes of our present moment.
The Collingridge dilemma highlights the challenge of regulating new technologies due to limited early knowledge and entrenched systems later. Experimental governance offers a solution through early, continuous collaboration between stakeholders, fostering transparency and trust. This approach helps co-develop accountable and equitable technologies while addressing societal risks.
Digital platforms have the potential to support meaningful governance and strengthen civil society. By leveraging their precision, transparency, anticipatory abilities, and capacity to incentivize behaviors, platforms can play a central role in addressing societal challenges like climate change and inequality. However, conscious efforts must be made to steer platforms away from solely benefiting businesses and toward empowering citizens, fostering pluralism, and enabling collective action. The next few years are critical in determining how platforms will shape the future of governance and civil society.
Trust is integral to the functioning of any society and the legitimacy of public institutions. In recent years, the trust in public institutions has been decreasing. At the same time, blockchain technology has created hope and hype in indirectly rebuilding public trust and governance. Blockchain has the potential to solve challenges related to trust, but only when combined with (a) appropriate regulation and (b) accountability mechanisms for public governance.
The deployment of AI systems in the public sector is still in its infancy, but algorithmic discrimination has been identified as a growing risk. The first findings of research project ‘Avoiding AI Biases‘ show that tools to assess and address discrimination are still lacking. The challenge: Algorithmic discrimination threatens fundamental…
Publications
Robots are moving beyond factories into care, services, construction and logistics. Robotics Scenarios 2040 sets out four possible futures for Finnish working life and seven jointly agreed recommendations for the government formed after the 2027 parliamentary elections. The project also presents seven claims the partners could not agree on, for politicians and society to debate.
Nordic public administrations are among Europe’s most digitally advanced. FEPS policy study authored by Demos Helsinki examines three automated systems in Norway, Finland, and Sweden and sets out thirteen recommendations for public organisations and policymakers on governing automation.
This policy brief focuses on short-term action (2026-2028) around AI governance and provides practical guidelines for experts and policymakers. It introduces a framework that embeds democratic pillars — participation, freedom, equality, transparency, knowledge, and the rule of law — directly into the entire AI lifecycle.
Projects
TOKEN eases the adoption of Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLTs) as drivers for far more open, transparent, trusted and efficient public services.
Virtual and augmented reality are gaining momentum in arts, sciences and business. However, these technologies could be implemented even better in various businesses and operation models in both the public and private sectors. The goal of the Virtual Reality Hubs project is to strengthen the Finnish virtual and augmented reality…
Demos Helsinki is helping public administration and companies to widen their perception of the technological shift. We have done considerable research and development projects on the societal and business impact of technology, including the Naked Approach initiative funded by Tekes (Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation), and the Ministry…
People
Sawsan Abdulbari
Sawsan turns messy problems into clarity and solutions, and she’s usually already learning about the next thing before the last one’s finished. Data science, machine learning and generative AI, all fascinate her, but the technology itself matters less than what it’s for. When a problem is too tangled to see…
Linda Marin
Linda wants technology to be helpful. That want is the foundation of her work when building models, automating tasks nobody wants to do by hand, and going through raw data until value is found. She’s just as comfortable explaining what AI means to someone who has never even heard about…
Max Stearns
Max thrives in the messy moments, when there’s no tried-and-true path for where to go next. Drawing on a background that merges design research and strategy with community organizing, Max applies a patient attentiveness and knack for connecting dots to turn sprawling, cross-disciplinary problems into carefully-honed questions and actionable next…
Artturi Pura
Artturi is driven by the question of how public policy can shape socially just, economically prosperous, and democratically sustainable futures. Recognising that these societal goals are increasingly intertwined with our digital landscape, Artturi explores how to strengthen the capacity of policy to govern and reshape technological change. At Demos Helsinki,…
Ella Välimäki
Ella is an Expert at Demos Helsinki, working at the intersection of society, technology, and the wellbeing economy. She focuses on how engagement and interaction can serve as tools for societal transformation. With a background in international relations and EU politics, Ella is driven by a desire to support a…
Lara Best-Dunkley
In a time of unprecedented geopolitical crises, Lara is the go-to person for a comprehensive and critical understanding of international governance and security. She believes in the importance of compassionate, collective and evidence-based decision-making, especially in the domain of hard security. Lara has a BSc in International Relations and Organisations…
Rita Latikka
Rita is a social psychologist who brings a human-centred perspective to the development and deployment of technologies. Her academic interests include the social acceptance and effects of digital technologies, as well as human-computer interaction. Rita believes that technology is too important to be left solely to technologists and advocates for…
Vera Djakonoff
Clinging on to only what we have now is a lousy way forward. At Demos Helsinki, Vera’s work focuses on anticipatory governance: promoting governments’ and organisations’ ability to both build resilience and drive transformation. A key question in her work is: how can we create and deepen our connection to…
João Sigora
João Sigora is the Vice-Chair of the Board and a Senior Expert at Demos Helsinki. His work centres on pioneering new approaches to governance and enhancing public sector capacity for reimagining and co-creating desired futures. He brings specialised expertise in public sector innovation, with a strong foundation in foresight, experimentation,…
Anna Björk
Anna is a political scientist whose academic love affairs include research on political concepts, societal impacts of emerging technologies, and temporality. Her current research analyses societal transformations from the perspectives of EU digital policy, contemporary social contracts, and inclusivity. Alongside doing research, Anna is also working closely with her colleagues…
Atte Ojanen
Atte is in charge of coordinating Demos Helsinki’s European research funding to enable societal transformation. As a research manager, he is your go-to-person in Horizon Europe and other research collaboration matters. Atte’s own research centers on societal effects of emerging technology, the ethics of AI, and deliberative democracy. Atte is…
Aleksi Neuvonen
Aleksi Neuvonen is a recognised expert and thinker on understanding the change (and unchange) of societies and organisations. Aleksi holds PhD honors from Tampere University and Radboud University Nijmegen. During his career, Aleksi has published over 30 reports, books or academic articles, focusing primarily on methods and tools for transformative…
Johannes Mikkonen
Johannes is dedicated to redefining the terms and conditions of our digital futures by exploring the ways to reshape our current sociotechnical systems, advising on policies to remaster technologies and forming visions of emerging alternative futures. At Demos Helsinki, Johannes has worked with various ministries and Prime Minister’s Offices around…
Themes
Our mission is to help organisations turn uncertainty into possibility by remastering technology and imagining alternative futures.
What does a stronger Europe actually require? Demos Helsinki’s comments on the State of the Union.
September 18, 2026
Drawing on three EU-funded research projects, we examine the tensions behind von der Leyen’s State of the Union address. Technological sovereignty risks deepening the dependencies it aims to reduce; climate resilience requires funding architecture that lets mitigation and adaptation reinforce each other; and Europe’s strength cannot be measured by economic indicators alone. A stronger Europe, we argue, depends less on ambition than on governance capable of delivering it.