AI Summit Turku: The city aims to become Finland's AI capital brings world-class AI events
The AI Summit will be held in Logomo on November 17th and is organized by AI Finland, the PS Foundation, and the ELLIS Institute of Finland. In parallel, the City of Turku and Business Turku will organize the AI TURUUS VAI side event, featuring talks and real-world examples of AI applications.
AI Week, taking place from November 17-21, will bring a wide range of AI-focused events to Turku. On Monday, November 17, Turku will host the major international AI Summit, a high-level conference on artificial intelligence. Alongside the summit, the AI TURUUS VAI side event will present numerous concrete examples of how AI is being used and applied in practice.
Turku has already been Finland’s capital, the food capital, and the Christmas city — and now it aims to become Finland’s AI capital. This journey will be carried out together with local companies, research communities, and other cities. For instance, the AI Week in mid-November is expected to bring around 1,500 AI professionals from Finland and abroad to Turku.
The AI Summit will be held in Logomo on November 17 under the leadership of Peter Sarlin, CEO of AI company Silo AI, will gather a large group of international AI researchers. The summit is organized by AI Finland, Foundation PS, and the ELLIS Institute Finland. In parallel, the City of Turku and Business Turku will organize the AI TURUUS VAI side event, featuring talks and real-world examples of AI applications. Participants can also follow the AI Summit live from Logomo.
These major events support Turku’s goal of becoming Finland’s AI capital.
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"Developing AI activities is a strong objective for us. This goal is based on our own initiatives as well as the University of Turku’s active work in AI development and applications. Becoming the AI capital also fits well with Turku’s 800th anniversary year, whose themes are ‘being first’ and ‘the city of expertise’", says Rami Savila, CIO of the City of Turku.
The City of Turku has a clear plan for AI adoption
Over the past two years, Turku has built the foundation for integrating AI within the city’s own organization. The aim is to increase work efficiency and well-being while improving and simplifying services for residents.
"In the coming years, we’ll focus on supporting management by introducing AI-based decision-making tools. We also aim to leverage so-called hyperautomation, which combines AI and machine learning with more traditional automation technologies," explains Savila.
AI will gradually be introduced across all areas of Turku’s service production.
"The list of ongoing pilots and experiments is long — from personal AI assistants for city employees and a sports hobby bot for young people to tree-felling assessment and invoice processing. In technical urban operations, AI can already identify traffic flows and, using extensive data, uncover new insights into residential area growth forecasts."
Vesa Palander, who recently transitioned from the startup world to become Turku’s Director of Economic Vitality, aims to strengthen Turku’s Government Technology approach and put plans into action quickly. Government Technology refers to technologies that enhance and streamline public sector operations.
"Our key goal is to manage operations through data — accelerating service production and improving quality. The public sector must also boldly embrace AI; otherwise, an opportunity could become a threat," emphasizes Palander.
Palander also stresses collaboration with other cities and companies. "Vitality comes from activating, enabling, and involving companies from across Finland and the world in development — and this naturally applies to AI as well."
Turku-based PALL0 captures human intelligence through AI
At the AI TURUUS VAI event, several new AI innovations will be showcased. One of them is PALL0, a technology developed by Turku-based AI2AI Oy, which uses AI to support rehabilitation, well-being, and human motivation. As its name suggests, PALL0 is a ball-shaped, AI-driven, talking rehabilitation device that adapts to a user’s movements and emotional state in real time. The handheld ball monitors parameters such as grip strength, movement range and angle, and reaction time.
Target user groups include professionals in neurological and cognitive rehabilitation, early-stage dementia patients, and users who benefit from multisensory interaction.
"AI has been an integral part of PALL0 since the very beginning. Each device includes trained models that analyze the user’s activity and help improve the quality and engagement of rehabilitation," says Henrik Terävä, CEO of AI2AI Oy.
Founded in 2020, AI2AI is currently preparing for production of a new version of the product and expanding its pilot programs across the Nordic countries. The next investments aim to personalize the AI based on user data — with the goal of creating an even more tailored and impactful rehabilitation experience.