Helsinki: A City That Took AI Governance Seriously
When cities across Europe began experimenting with artificial intelligence, Helsinki quietly set a new standard: not by launching high-profile pilots, but by showing how to govern them responsibly.
Helsinki’s AI journey is rooted in a deep commitment to public trust and human-centric design. While the national AuroraAI program aimed to create a vast digital infrastructure linking life-event-based services across Finland, Helsinki was among the few cities that translated that ambition into practical steps residents could see and use.
From AuroraAI to Hester
AuroraAI, launched as a national initiative, envisioned a seamless AI-assisted journey through key life events, starting school, accessing healthcare, changing jobs. But in 2023, it was paused due to governance complexity and readiness gaps across public institutions.
Helsinki, however, didn’t wait. It adopted AuroraAI’s core values and built on them. One notable outcome was Hester, a multilingual AI chatbot that provides 24/7 guidance on health and social services. More than just a helpdesk, Hester integrates into the city’s digital health infrastructure, offering personalized answers and, when needed, routing users to human professionals during office hours.
Perhaps more impressive is how the city handles transparency. Helsinki became one of the first cities globally—alongside Amsterdam—to launch an AI Register: a publicly accessible listing of algorithms used in city services. For each use case, it explains what the algorithm does, what data it uses, and what human oversight is in place. This register isn’t just symbolic—it’s updated, audited, and designed to foster dialogue.
Governing with Purpose
AI governance in Helsinki is not an afterthought. Digital services are overseen by a cross-departmental team embedded within the city’s broader digital strategy, emphasizing openness, interoperability, and ethical deployment. The city also evaluates new technologies using a human-centric framework rooted in public value, not just efficiency.
These initiatives have been supported through a combination of city innovation budgets, national funding streams from Finland’s Digital and Population Data Services Agency, and EU programs such as Horizon 2020. Rather than creating expensive standalone projects, Helsinki embedded AI within its broader digital transformation strategy—ensuring sustainability and scalability.
Much of this work was carried out in collaboration with trusted partners, including Forum Virium Helsinki, the city’s innovation company; the national Digital and Population Data Services Agency; and private sector contributors such as Tietoevry and Microsoft, with whom the city piloted Microsoft Copilot for internal administration workflows in 2023–2024.
Lessons for Other Cities
Helsinki’s story isn’t about scale. It’s about doing AI right. It shows that a city doesn’t need to be the largest or loudest to lead in public innovation.
By publishing its AI tools, building trust-first services like Hester, and governing through shared values, Helsinki offers a roadmap for mid-sized cities navigating AI adoption. The AuroraAI pause only made its local leadership more visible.
As more cities enter the AI space, Helsinki stands out as a reminder: boldness isn’t about speed, it’s about responsibility, transparency, and serving people first.
Explore The Tools
- Try out Hester, Helsinki’s multilingual AI chatbot, or explore its Finnish interface where it’s most active here.
- Visit the city’s pioneering AI Register, offering algorithm-level transparency for every city use case.
