Watch the full press conference from the Government – 11 June 2025
TRUST Aims to Make Artificial Intelligence Fair, Safe, and Responsible
TRUST’s mission is to develop an interdisciplinary knowledge base for the development of safe, fair, and responsible AI. The center will conduct research on technology, societal impact, and innovation in close collaboration with academia, research institutes, industry, the public sector, and civil society.
A Historic Milestone for Norwegian AI Research
“At the Norwegian Computing Center, we are very proud that TRUST has been selected as one of the new national AI centers. This is a historic milestone in Norwegian AI research,” says André Teigland, CEO of the Norwegian Computing Center.
“This gives us the opportunity to further invest in fundamental research and the development of trustworthy AI—something that is becoming increasingly important for both business and society.”
The initiative is part of the government’s billion-kroner AI investment and aims to help position Norway as a leader in the development and use of artificial intelligence. TRUST will build capacity in research environments, increase AI competence in society, and support innovation with significant societal value.
Creating Value and Societal Benefit
“TRUST is a very solid center that will build both capacity and expertise in artificial intelligence,” says Trond Runar Hagen, Executive Vice President of SINTEF Digital.
“I strongly believe that the research communities, together with partners in industry and the public sector, will work on issues that create value and bring significant societal benefit.”
An Important Boost for Strong Academic Communities
Solveig Kristensen, Dean of the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences at the University of Oslo, emphasizes that UiO has long had strong academic communities in machine learning and artificial intelligence:
“Today we take a big step forward. Together with our partners, we aim to bring forward new knowledge in a rapidly evolving field—something of great importance to society as a whole.”
TRUST will also benefit from strong research communities within the national centre for knowledge-driven machine learning, Integreat, which aims to make machine learning more sustainable, accurate, reliable, and ethical. Integreat is a collaboration between the University of Oslo (UiO), UiT The Arctic University of Norway, and the Norwegian Computing Center.
In addition, DSTrain is a key resource, employing 36 postdoctoral researchers across data science at the Faculty of Mathematics and Natural Sciences. Collaboration with these environments will strengthen TRUST and contribute to robust results.
AI as a Tool for a Better Society
Center Director, Professor Arnoldo Frigessi of the University of Oslo, highlights the importance of collaboration and societal responsibility in the development of TRUST. He emphasizes that the center will be an inclusive research arena with long-term societal benefits:
“We want to build a center that is open, ambitious, and engaging—where young and experienced researchers work together to make AI a tool for a better and fairer society. We are very grateful to receive this funding, and we will work hard to demonstrate that TRUST is the right investment.”
We also look forward to working with the other AI centers in Norway and building on the excellent collaboration already established through NORA – the Norwegian Artificial Intelligence Research Consortium.
About TRUST – The Norwegian Centre for Trustworthy AI
TRUST will establish a research foundation for the development of trustworthy artificial intelligence. The research will be interdisciplinary, rooted in a wide range of sciences—from mathematics and computer science to social sciences, law, and the humanities. The center aims to develop AI that is accurate, explainable, ethically sound, inclusive, fair, safe, sustainable, and well-governed. The research will be tied to real-world challenges addressed by active businesses, strong public sector bodies, civil society, and research environments around the world. In the long term, TRUST aspires to become a permanent national competence center for responsible AI in Norway.
Supported by the Government’s AI Investment Plan
The press conference announcing the initiatives was held today at 10:30 AM at the University of Oslo, with participation from Prime Minister Jonas Gahr St?re, Minister of Research and Higher Education Sigrun Aasland, and the Research Council of Norway.
For more information about TRUST, contact:
Professor Arnoldo Frigessi, Director, TRUST
Professor Morten D?hlen, dScience, University of Oslo.
See more photos from the press conference here:
Photo: Christoffer Hals, dScience, UiO.
TRUST Leadership Team:
Arnoldo Frigessi, Geir Kjetil Sandve, Mats Stefan Carlin, Kjersti Aas, Morten D?hlen, Malcolm Langford, Anna Smajdor.
Overview of Partners from Industry and the Public Sector
ABB, DNB, DNV, Equinor, Gjensidige, Hydro, IBM, Kongsberg Group, M?ller Mobility Group, Oslo Pensjonsforsikring, Ruter, Sparebanken M?re, Statkraft, Norwegian Courts Administration, Norwegian Data Protection Authority, Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud, UDI, National Archives, Police, NKOM, Oslo Municipality, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Public Roads Administration, Railway Directorate, Rana Municipality, South-Eastern Norway Regional Health Authority, NAV, Statistics Norway, Aleap, Amnesty, Construction City, Finance Norway, NITO, Negotia, NIFRO, Norwegian Nuclear Decommissioning, Oslo Science City, Standards Norway, StartupLab.
Overview of Research Partners in Norway
University of Oslo, Norwegian Computing Center, SINTEF, Ahus, BI, CICERO, Institute of Transport Economics, NORCE, NGI, NUPI, Norwegian Institute of Public Health, Norwegian Police University College, Oslo University Hospital, OsloMet, UiT, University of Bergen, University of Stavanger, Volda University College.