In Finland, the Left Can Lead on Fair AI Policy

Finland’s next general election has been set for next April 18, hopefully bringing an end to the National Coalition Party’s current slash-and-burn coalition, in which the far-right Finns Party plays a key role. Recent polls have, however, seen the latter worryingly rise to second position, becoming the main right-wing force for the first time ever. Trailing Antti Lindtman’s Social Democrats (SDP) by 6 percentage points, the Finns Party is placing its hope in polarizing the election over immigration. But as the SDP and other left-of-center parties like the Left Alliance and the Greens seek to fend off a far-right surge, a new key battleground has emerged: artificial intelligence.

Crossing over into the perennial issues of education, employment, and the environment, AI is already becoming a key issue for voters wherever elections are held globally. In Finland, a narrative is emerging that relates to the specific local terrain, culture, and economy. Unemployment is currently at 10 percent nationwide, the worst in the European Union, which makes the country particularly vulnerable to further AI-induced job loss. The Left Alliance’s leader Minja Koskela released a statement in October insisting that “The data center boom must be reflected in increasing tax revenues, jobs, and expertise, not in municipal residents’ electricity bills or the destruction of forest nature.” In doing so, she signaled that the Left Alliance, which has polled at over 12 percent for the first time ever, can be trusted to navigate the tricky terrain of ethical AI use.

This statement seems to have a major recent data center controversy in its sights. Google has been instructed by Finnish authorities to stop work on two data centers in Finland, located in Muhos and Kajaani. This followed news that the tech giant had flouted regulations by clearing hundreds of acres of forest across both sites prior to performing obligatory environmental impact assessments or ensuring that felled trees would be replaced. The extent of Google’s wrongdoing is still unclear, as recriminations pass between the firm and local authorities. In any case, the act has caused a media storm in a country defined by its relationship to nature, and particularly to its abundant forests, while drawing attention to the clear dangers AI poses for the environment. Public discontent led to a hundred protesters gathering outside Google’s Finnish headquarters in Helsinki on October 12 to demand environmental accountability. The protest signaled dismay at a foreign goliath hacking away at Finland’s natural resources.

Both conservative Prime Minister Petteri Orpo and Finns Party leader and Finance Minister Riikka Purra have welcomed Google’s €13 billion investment in the country, which will result in a total of four data centers (one already completed in Hamina, the two mentioned above and one more planned in Vaala). Yet they are walking a tightrope between seeking to embrace new and vital technology and disregarding the public interest in the name of profit. Finland’s right-wing parties universally caution — along with the Left — that assurances need to be made to prevent rising electricity consumption impacting energy costs. Yet the Finns Party’s nationalist rhetoric stands in stark contrast with its actions. As the second- biggest party in the governing coalition, it too must take some responsibility for permitting a foreign tech giant to run roughshod over Finnish sensibilities. They may as well have allowed Google to destroy Moominvalley, the fictional home of Finland’s much-loved unofficial mascot, the Moomins.

Juha-Matti Mustonen, a Left Alliance candidate in Oulu (the district where Muhos and Kajaani are situated, and where I live) wrote to me in email that, “It seems Google will face no sanctions for these logging activities. In fact, it appears the company will get away scot-free with the environmental devastation it has caused. An ordinary citizen would be heading straight to prison for such actions.” Police have since launched an investigation into Google’s actions, though the episode raises major questions about the governing parties’ seriousness in defending local interests, and it gets worse if we consider the actual financial benefits. As Mustonen continues: “The government was overjoyed by Google’s €13 billion investment. However, closer examination reveals that only a small fraction of the total investment will actually remain in Finland.” This latter point was backed up by Lassi Linnanen, professor of environmental economics and management at the Lappeenranta-Lahti University of Technology, on the national broadcaster’s politics show A-talk in mid-October. Linnanen stated that Finland offers land and infrastructure, while the profits will go elsewhere.

Left-Wing Solutions

Against this backdrop, AI will likely be a key election issue nationally, and particularly in Oulu. The Left will need to show it has the public interest at heart, while the Right merely pays lip service to the desire for a fair and equitable AI future. One politician who is well-placed to focus on this topic is the Oulu Left Alliance MP Jessi Jokelainen, who is running to maintain her parliamentary seat. This spring, Jokelainen published a policy paper called “Left-Wing Solutions to the Artificial-Intelligence Revolution,” arguing that AI productivity gains should be distributed to employees as shorter working hours instead of merely amounting to more profit for business owners.

Jokelainen also cites education as an area in need of overhaul, with lifelong learning necessary to ensure people aren’t left behind by AI advances. She argues for degree studies to be made more flexible for the unemployed. I am a teacher of academic writing in a Finnish university and can attest that AI is seen as an inevitability — for good and bad. It clearly brings great potential in the right hands. Yet it also brings considerable uncertainty for the sector. Finnish student numbers are in decline due to demographics. Along with the potential for the automation of teaching, this clearly threatens the sector, especially in nonvocational subjects. Lifelong training could breathe new life into Finland’s tertiary education sector.

What is clear is that tech giants see Finland as fertile ground for AI expansion. It is seen as the “Texas of Europe” for its level of data center investment and planning, and a pushover for capitalists: After all, the government recently proposed to cut corporate income tax from 20 to 18 percent, effective from early 2027. Given austerity measures, it might understandably be seen as gung ho in its courting of capitalist projects that have little consideration for the local environment or workers. Such austerity is arguably responsible for a slowdown of the economy through its negative impact on spending. Finland’s leaders mustn’t seek to compensate by giving hasty permissions for foreign AI companies who ignore ordinary Finns’ interests.

This article originally appeared in Jacobin, a democratic socialist magazine publishing long-form essays and analysis on politics, economics, and culture. Subscribe to the print edition for $20 a year.