We Took Control of the Oil. Let's Do the Same with AI

This article was originally published in Altinget (a Nordic political news outlet). Read more from Altinget here.

You'd have to bury your head pretty deep in the sand not to see that AI is the most transformative technology of our time. Just look at everything that happened this summer while you were on holiday; we now have AI agents that can independently perform tasks on your computer, video generation that's impossible to distinguish from reality, and AI models winning gold at the International Mathematical Olympiad.

AI technology is racing ahead and becoming an increasingly important part of our lives. Yet we barely give AI the attention it deserves. The Norwegian government's digitalisation strategy devotes just seven of ninety pages to the technology, none of the parties in the Storting (Norway's parliament) have AI on their campaign agenda, and Europe continues to fall behind on investments in data centres, energy, and talent.

Things are happening in Norway, however. But typically, the initiative comes from the private sector rather than as part of a larger strategy between government and business.

The news that Aker (a major Norwegian industrial conglomerate) is partnering with Nscale to build OpenAI's first AI factory in Europe shows that we have something to offer the global AI infrastructure. A cool climate, cheap and renewable power (for now), and a stable democracy are valuable to those who want to build and operate data centres.

The question is what Norway gets in return for offering cheap electricity to American companies. Data centres generally create few jobs once construction is finished, despite what we're often told. We also see companies like Google paying limited tax. This by no means precludes having data centres in Norway, but I believe we should have greater ambitions for what we want to get out of it.

Rather than passively receiving these investments, we should look to our own history for inspiration. The great masterstroke of the 1970s oil policy was a deliberate strategy to exploit oil resources for long-term national gain — through high tax rates, a national oil industry, and an accompanying industrial base. In short: taking direct control of the resource.

Norway's Moses

The brain behind much of this was railway man Rolf Hellem. As chair of the industry committee in the Storting, he authored 'The Ten Oil Commandments'. These were a set of guiding principles and concrete proposals — including the creation of Statoil (now Equinor, Norway's state oil company) — to ensure that the oil benefited all of society.

A key insight from the oil era teaches us the value of being pragmatic. Norway was willing to make compromises, build alliances, and learn from the best — while simultaneously safeguarding national interests. We invited American companies in, but required Norwegian partners.

We accepted foreign technology, but insisted on training. We were patient enough to build expertise over time, but firm enough to demand licensing terms that secured national control.

Just as with oil, Norway today holds strong cards to ensure that AI development benefits Norwegians: cheap and renewable power, substantial capital, a digitally literate population, and political stability. But we lack the most important things: technological expertise, computing power, and our own AI models.

We should develop a digitalisation strategy that emphasises strategic trade-offs, exactly as we did with oil. Every time an international tech company wants to set up in Norway, we should demand knowledge transfer and positive spillover effects for the Norwegian AI industry.

One Armed Bandit

There is no reason to build crypto and TikTok data centres in Norway. That's giving away electricity at a bargain in exchange for something of virtually zero value. Data centres like Google's in Skien (a city in southern Norway) or Stargate Norway in Narvik (a city in northern Norway), on the other hand, offer something that can give back to society.

For instance, Aker and Nscale write that Project Stargate will collaborate with local research communities in Northern Norway on research, innovation, and knowledge sharing. These are positive signals that I hope will be followed up on.

The government's new data centre strategy is also a very cautious step in the right direction, with registration requirements and security demands. But it lacks the most important element: concrete requirements for what Norway should get in return. The strategy mentions 'value creation' 36 times, but contains few concrete mechanisms to ensure that this value creation actually happens in Norway.

Let's take control

As we now discuss data centre development, I fear the debate will land in one of two ditches: either Rødt (the Red Party) and SV (the Socialist Left Party), who are sceptical of most data centre development, or an uncritical cheering squad that thinks the industry should be given free rein.

Both approaches miss the strategic potential of data centre development. We need a third way that combines openness with strategic demands. Let's instead learn from the Government Pension Fund Global – Norway's sovereign wealth fund, often called 'the Oil Fund' – which has established a good collaboration with Anthropic, where the fund purchases services from them in exchange for technology and knowledge transfer internally.

Langsikt has been inspired by 'The Ten Oil Commandments' and we have therefore assembled a committee of 15 experts who will hammer out 'The Ten AI and Data Commandments', to be launched after the election. The goal is to ensure that we manage data and AI resources in a way that benefits all of society.

Some will claim that it is unthinkable that Norway could build up its own AI industry. But the pessimists said the same about Norway's chances of becoming a leading oil nation in the 1970s.

Even if we don't become a leading AI nation overnight, every measure that makes us better prepared for the future will be a gain for Norway.

No victory is too small.