The Slush Chronicles: Founders Unplugged: Veera Siivonen

Slush 2024 founder: Veera Siivonen, Saidot

At SXSW 2024 I went to listen to Saidot’s talk on AI governance, talking about the EU’s AI Act and got the insights about this Finnish startup working on with AI compliance and regulations with their SaaS platform. So, we set up a proper chat with the co-founder, CCO Veera Siivonen to discuss where the AI act is taking us (The EU residents) and what is cooking within the AI compliance and -governance space.

In brief Saidot is a SaaS platform that helps in AI rink management and compliance.

Saidot in the news

A major partnership with Microsoft had been launched just prior to Slush 2024, and was a great talking point for the discussion. As Veera highlights on the Saido’t announcement: “Saidot tools provides the collaboration tools needed to make AI work safely and effectively.”

 

The Microsoft news gave the Saidot team a lot to talk about at Slush, but apart from that they had just launched (October 2024) their “viral” campaign, 6th finger , towards the industry influencers and key decision makers (Sam Altman, Ursula von der Leyen, Mark Zuckerberg and Scarlett Johansson), and with that wanted to address AI’s hidden risks with a push for transparency and collaboration. This campaign highlights AI safety by sending these influential figures custom six-fingered gloves, symbolizing unnoticed risks in AI models, especially focusing on

• • Biased outcomes – AI algorithms often have biases in information processing that can lead to ethical problems when used, for example, in recruitment processes
  • Copyright infringement – AI might be trained on copyrighted content, potentially exposing users to copyright infringement without even realising it.
  • False information – AI still tends to randomly fabricate information. This phenomenon is known as hallucination, and it can lead to serious problems if left unchecked.

What a great campaign idea:)

AI Act and it’s implications

So, as my last touchpoint with Saidot was the SXSW talk on the audience dialogue and AI governance, I had to go through the similar questions/talking points that we had with Ms Aura Salla, a Finnish MEP (Member of EU Parliament), and here are Veera’s takeaways on the key topics on the EU’s AI act:

Peter: How will the Act support innovation while keeping AI safe?
Veera: The EU AI Act sets strict requirements for high-risk AI uses, such as those impacting health, safety, and human rights. It also introduces regulations for providers of foundation models, though some exceptions apply. The aim is to ensure AI safety while allowing innovation.

Peter: Can Europe compete with the US and China in AI under these rules?
Veera: The rules might limit competition but are not currently seen as a major threat. Key U.S. players have indicated compliance with the Act. However, Europe’s lack of resources for developing top-tier AI models could restrict both usage and innovation. Importantly, the Act focuses only on regulating high-risk AI, not all AI applications.

Peter: Will small tech companies struggle with compliance costs?
Veera: Yes, smaller companies are likely to face challenges, as compliance costs could be burdensome. Reputational damage from non-compliance may also prove costly.

Peter: Will EU countries apply the rules consistently?
Veera: Uniform application of the rules across all EU countries is uncertain, posing a potential weakness in the Act’s implementation.

Peter: Are there sufficient tools to help companies test their AI?
Veera: While tools are available to assist companies in navigating compliance, their number and effectiveness are still growing. Efforts to support startups in this regard are ongoing.

Peter: How will the Act adapt to changes in AI?
Veera: While tools are available to assist companies already now, AI is developing at great speed and also the tools are improving. We of course want to provide the most efficient high quality governance solution and our collaboration with Microsoft to support end-to-end AI governance is a great step forward.

You should definitely follow Saidot online, and their Insights Blog is a great source of news within the complicated AI governance, making it not-so-complicated.

Veera’s Fifth Slush Experience

Veera has attended several Slushes before, three times as a Attendee, and this year was the second as an entrepreneur. This year’s experience was amazing, with so much to talk about within the AI governance space, with meeting old and new friends and just feeling the Slush vibes. She will definitely be back at Slush in the coming years as Slush is the place to network and share ideas within the industry people.

NOTE: As a new content service from Nordic Startup News, we are trialing with some of our interviews (and other stories, too) to be spoken out as Podcasts. Here is our NotebookLM generated spoken audio about this interview. Enjoy!