Finnish earnings-related pension provider, Varma, has introduced artificial intelligence (AI) ethical guidelines for employees.

The guidelines, which were finalised at the beginning of 2024, were developed by a working group of Varma experts and crystallise the objectives, policies and boundaries required for the ethically sustainable use of AI. Varma said the need for guidelines arose from the rapid development of AI technology and situations for which previous guidelines did not provide sufficient answers or tools.

“Ethical guidelines for AI are now on the desks of many Finnish companies. We all seek the benefits and efficiency of AI in our work, but at the same time we have a responsibility to use AI ethically,” Varma director of data and digital services, Mika Nikkola, said.

“At Varma, this is particularly emphasised in our operations, where we develop AI systems, procure them from external suppliers and decide on their deployment. We need to have the expertise and good tools to identify risks and assess them ethically,"

The company’s AI ethical guidelines were built in workshops, where employees from different departments in Varma gained background knowledge on ethics and identified current and potential future uses of AI. At the same time, they discussed the ethical considerations that should be made for these applications.

The working group's thinking was led by ethicist Anna Seppänen, PhD, who has previous experience in building ethical guidelines for companies.

“The arrival of AI may be seen by many as a distressing prospect, with threats such as job losses or job changes. The ethics of AI also confronts two phenomena that are difficult in the workplace, AI and ethics. Therefore, I also see it as an important workplace wellbeing measure to provide staff with AI skills, as it prevents this ethical stress,” Seppänen said.

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