The small country on the Baltic Sea, Estonia, is emerging as an AI powerhouse. Estonia is pushing an AI-based education integration program and spreading AI-assisted cancer diagnosis technology and automated digital administrative services. The government is also actively exploring applying AI in the judiciary. ChosunBiz interviews Estonia's AI practitioners across sectors to hear how Estonia has managed to reinvent itself as an AI powerhouse. [Editor's note]
"Since the 1990s, immediately after independence, Estonia has kept digitalization and technological innovation as a core national strategy. Even when administrations and ideologies changed, the 'digital first' stance did not. I believe the resolve not to postpone innovation made today's AI powerhouse, Estonia."
Kamel Tellis, deputy chief of mission at the Embassy of Estonia in Korea, said this in a face-to-face interview with ChosunBiz, explaining the secret behind Estonia's artificial intelligence (AI) development. Tellis, the deputy chief of mission, is an expert in the trade and investment institutional sector with about 10 years of experience across the private sector and government. Before joining the government, Tellis worked as a lawyer at a law firm, supporting corporations up close.
Tellis analyzed that the historical backdrop of having to quickly close the gap with neighboring countries right after the Soviet collapse, and the geographic characteristic of a widely dispersed population with low administrative accessibility, aligned with a government focus on practicality to give rise to Estonia's AI competitiveness. Today, Estonia continues to advance to the point where about 60 government agencies use AI. The following is a Q&A with Tellis.
— Estonia is regarded as a global leader in AI. Where does its AI competitiveness come from?
"Estonia's AI competitiveness comes from a strong digital government infrastructure. For years, Estonia has already provided nearly 100% of public services online. Everything from tax filing and prescription issuance to marriage registration and general election voting can be handled online 24/7. In the process, structured public data, interoperable network systems, and digital ID infrastructure have accumulated, and above all, public trust in digital services has taken root. AI development naturally followed on the back of this environment."
— Do you mean AI policy was not pushed through in a short period?
"Yes. There are limits to simply pushing policy all of a sudden. Because a digital- and data-based administrative system was already running smoothly, introducing AI could also be advanced more easily. In the 1990s, Estonia built a pro-digital culture starting with the 'Tiger Leap' policy to put computers in every classroom. Continuing that momentum is the 'AI Leap' policy introduced last year. Instead of shaming the majority of students for using AI chatbots in their studies, the government chose to shape and teach responsible use. This shows well the Estonian government's stance as it faces rapidly growing AI."
— How is AI actually being used in the public institutional sector?
"Currently in Estonia's public institutional sector, more than 130 cases of AI use have been reported across 65 agencies. This figure is being updated quickly every year. One point to note is that most of these are closer to small tools to improve administrative efficiency rather than large-scale projects. For example, the Tax and Customs Board uses an AI-based tax evasion detection system to monitor the entire tax filing process and deploys personnel with a focus on large tax evasion cases. The Unemployment Insurance Fund also uses AI to identify job seekers at risk of long-term unemployment early and link them to policy support. In the parliament, meeting contents are automatically recorded by an AI transcription program.
The government chatbot 'Bürokratt' is also indispensable. Bürokratt integrates and guides public service information scattered across ministries, offering the advantage of providing information from dozens of government agencies at once. In short, AI handles repetitive and tedious tasks, while humans take on high value-added work and final decisions."
— How does Estonia's AI strategy differ from those of other countries?
"Estonia's AI strategy is premised on a human-centric approach. The government does not seek to replace citizens with AI. Rather, it intends to actively use AI as a tool to improve citizens' welfare and efficiency. AI systems that affect citizens' rights or obligations must be subject to human oversight and final approval, and algorithms must be built to be explainable and transparent.
To make this possible, the Estonian government operates an e-governance platform that discloses information such as the algorithms of AI systems used by the government. In addition, the government is working to fill in side issues that AI can create, such as job search difficulties or the digital literacy gap among older adults. The expansion of lifelong learning for all generations and public-private cooperative AI education also falls under these efforts."
— Are there any information security issues as digital government expands?
"Trust is the core of digital government. And trust can be maintained only when both transparency of information and strong security are fulfilled. To avoid breaking the public's trust, the government has made continuous efforts on security. In 2007, Estonia faced an unprecedented situation in which major computer networks were paralyzed by a massive DDoS attack. At the time, cyberattacks hit central ministries, the prime minister's office, the parliament, and banks indiscriminately, crippling the internet for nearly two weeks. This prompted a whole-of-government reinforcement of security.
For example, in 2018, Estonia became the first in the world to establish a Data Embassy. It stores copies of the nation's core data in a distributed manner to ensure that a digitally based state can continue even in a geopolitical crisis. The NATO Cooperative Cyber Defence Centre of Excellence and EU IT-related bodies are also based in Estonia, symbolically showing how strongly the Estonian government prioritizes security."
— How do you assess the potential for AI cooperation with Korea?
"I believe Estonia and Korea are very natural partners in AI. Both countries already have highly advanced digital government and ICT infrastructure and share a commitment to making technological innovation a core national strategy. The two countries also face common challenges. They are exposed to cyberattack risks geopolitically, are entering aging societies, and must solve a nationwide talent shortage. In this respect, the potential for cooperation between the two countries will be very high.
Among various fields, I think there is great potential for cooperation in the use of AI in education. Korea is actively investing in education, and I understand that there are various exchanges taking place in education at the level of the Embassy of Estonia in Korea. In addition, I expect active collaboration between the two countries in Smart City solutions and in building ethical AI governance."