Språkbanken and the National Library of Sweden collaborate on the AI models of the future
The National Library of Sweden has received funding under the government’s AI initiative to strengthen capacity for the development of language models. Together with Språkbanken at the University of Gothenburg, future language models for research will now be developed.
– Sweden needs to take control of its own digital infrastructure, says Markus Forsberg, Director of Språkbanken.
Last autumn, the government announced that the National Library of Sweden (KB) would receive SEK 30 million to expand storage and computing capacity for AI development. It is also being allocated SEK 10 million to take part in the establishment of an AI lab for the public sector. This investment enables a deepened strategic collaboration with Språkbanken at the University of Gothenburg.
KB and Språkbanken are both national research infrastructures with a long history of collaboration to promote Swedish research. Språkbanken creates opportunities to conduct research on digital text and speech materials using AI tools, while KB, in turn, develops language models based on its collections, with the aim of contributing to the quality of Swedish research.
Strengthening research capacity in AI
The enhanced collaboration is a further step towards strengthening Sweden’s research capacity in language technology and the country’s linguistic and cultural sovereignty.
– Sweden needs to take control of its own digital infrastructure, and this is only possible if we join forces nationally, something the government’s AI initiatives now make possible, says Markus Forsberg, newly appointed national director of Språkbanken.
– We are very pleased to be working more closely with the National Library of Sweden.
Link to Språkbanken