FEATURE STORIES

The future is already here - and a "Burträskare" shows the way

AI isn't science fiction anymore - it's already affecting how we buy, sell and work. And one of the people who knows most about it comes from Burträsk. Ola Henfridsson is one of the world's most influential researchers in digital innovation. Today he lives in Miami and teaches at the University of Miami. We had a chat with the professor who predicts a future where our society will be unrecognizable in 25 years - but don't worry, we have time to adapt.

Did you know that you are currently participating in a global economic revolution - just by scrolling on your phone? 40 years ago, Sweden's most advanced supercomputer was in Skellefteå. Today, you have a more powerful machine in your hand. We use digital platforms every day - from listening to music on Spotify, booking accommodation on Airbnb or ordering food on Foodora. But how does it affect us? Who wins and who loses? Ola Henfridsson researches just that: how digital platforms are changing business, working life and our daily lives.

You have been cited 19 000 times according to Google Scholar. This makes you one of the world's leading researchers in your field - why is that?

- I have always been focused. From Burträsk I have brought humility and a sense of my roots, which makes me appreciate where I am today. To get here, I have also had the opportunity to collaborate with very good research teams - and collaboration is probably the most important thing I have taken with me from home.

So how did he end up in Florida?

- It was a long road. I started in Umeå, then did research at Chalmers in Gothenburg, and then spent six years at the University of Warwick in England. In 2019, I was headhunted to Miami, and it fit well into the life puzzle, so the family moved, says Ola.

Today he teaches two courses: one on product management and one on blockchain - an area that is huge in the US. But Burträsk is still there. His mother still lives there and he also keeps up to date through his brother Hans, Facebook and Norran.

“From Burträsk I have gained
humility and a sense of my roots, which makes me appreciate where I am today”

- It was a very good upbringing, you understand it much more now, it was fantastic. I remember that the weather was always good in the summers - maybe not always, but football and Burträsk IK meant a lot.

He himself was a stable fullback in Burträsk IK, and the interest in football has been passed down. His son plays in the Paris Saint-Germain Academy in Miami and has won the state championship two years in a row. When the family visits Sweden, however, they have never managed to squeeze in training with Burträsk IK - there is always a summer break.

- I think it's important that the children understand their roots, so it's necessary to come home from time to time," he says.

Ola has been driven by curiosity. From his first education in systems science in Umeå, to research projects in Tanzania in the 90s, and to founding the Center for e-commerce at the Department of Informatics at Umeå University and researching digital platforms.

Do you feel that your research is useful?

- I don't do medical research, but I feel that we are addressing important issues. The question is: do you want to be programmed, or do you want to program the world? That's where I see our research having a big role - creating technologies that make people more independent," he says.

Ola is passionate about technologies that can change the world. One of his biggest focus areas right now is how we can train AI models without giving away our personal data.

- If we want to be good at medicine, we need patient data. But it should belong to the individual. Blockchain gives us the technology to solve that. We're talking about social media without a central platform, banking without banks, medical data without records in between. But everything I'm saying sounds better in theory than it is in practice - regulations and legislation set limits, although that's about to change.

What can Skellefteå's business community learn from research taking place in Miami and London?

- Skellefteå's future is not just about building factories and homes - it's about how to take advantage of digital ecosystems. There is a huge power here. The physical still plays a big role, even in the digital. Look at Silicon Valley or how Miami has emerged as a hub for finance and blockchain - what makes it possible? Access to labor and the importance of human encounters. It's in those meetings that new ideas are born. Even if setting up sometimes means layoffs, knowledge is spread, new technology is taught and it can pave the way for future investments," says Ola.

“Access to workforce and human interactions create innovation”

And he sees enormous potential in the green energy available in Skellefteå:

- The world is crying out for energy. We need a lot more energy, and the question is where it comes from - but also how we can better utilize the earth's fossil-free energy sources. The big challenge is that energy is expensive to transport. If we could solve that, Norrland would be even richer, he says.

Ola is positive about the future. AI creates enormous opportunities for those who want to learn new things.

- I'm not sure if my 15 and 16-year-old children will even need to go to university as we know it today. AI creates a huge value for every individual - it makes me much more powerful to learn things on my own. Everyone can reach a very high level just within 100 days. Knowledge is spread in new ways today, but the physical place - meeting people, networking - will always be important. It means you can stay in your village and still participate in the global economy, says Ola.

So what does the future look like? Ola believes in a richer world - in every sense. But he has also seen how technology is changing the automotive industry he has been involved in.

- I've done research for Saab, Volvo Cars, Volvo Trucks and General Motors. The car has always been a symbol of freedom, but in the future we see a world where 100% driverless vehicles could make car ownership redundant and dramatically reduce transportation costs. Instead of owning a car, we might make a capital investment in a car and let others use it. This could create entirely new economic models and change the way we live.

- We will not recognize ourselves in 25 years. But we have time to plan. And that's what makes the future so exciting.

FACTS

Name: Ola Henfridsson.

Age: 54 years.

Family: Wife Pia (51), Theo, 16, Norah, 15.

Lives: Coconut Grove, Miami.

Works as: Professor and Associate Dean, School of Business, University of Miami.

Interests: Kids' sports, running and tennis.

Favorite reading: Yuval Noah Harari's "Nexus" (last read at least).

Favorite food: Lasagna.

Favorite thing to listen to: House music. Podcasts of various kinds.

Text: Daniel Bergeman

Photo: Private