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Demokratiskolan
The Technology card from MethodKit for Society and Politics
Card 108 of 128 · MethodKit for Society & Politics
  • AreaKnowledge & technology
  • Centre of gravityThe EU
  • Points of influence3 on the journey
  • Decisive electionEuropean Parliament election
Knowledge & technology

Technology

Infrastructure, development & implementation

Technology shapes everyday life faster than the law book can keep up: AI, apps, connected homes and digital agencies. The rules for data, platforms and AI are today largely written in Brussels, while Swedish agencies handle the oversight and municipalities bring the technology into welfare services. So anyone who wants to shape technology needs to look in several directions at once.

Where does the power lie?1

  • Municipality · e-services, welfare technology · approx 15 %
  • Region · digital care, medical records · approx 10 %
  • State · oversight, spectrum, administration · approx 35 %
  • EU · ai, data, platform rules · approx 40 %

The EU dominates the rules: data protection, the AI rules and the platform laws are decided in Brussels. The European Parliament election therefore matters most, the central government handles implementation and oversight.

How it works: the breakdown

The municipalityTechnology in everyday life
The regionDigital healthcare
Central governmentOversight and infrastructure
Who decides?
The municipal executive board (kommunstyrelse), the committees (nämnder) and the municipality's digitalisation lead.
The regional council (regionfullmäktige) and the regions' IT organisations, jointly behind 1177.
The Riksdag (Sweden's parliament), the Government and agencies such as PTS, Digg and IMY.
What do they decide?
E-services, welfare technology in care, schools' digital tools and often a municipal broadband network of its own.
Medical record systems, 1177, digital care appointments and technology in healthcare.
Allocates frequencies, drives digital administration, watches over data protection and implements the EU's technology rules in Swedish law.
Where are decisions made?
In committee decisions and in procurements of systems, which are official documents.
In the regional executive board (regionstyrelse) and in large joint procurements.
In the Riksdag and in the agencies' regulations and oversight decisions.
Who pays?
Municipal tax. System changes are large items in the municipality's budget.
Regional tax. Medical record systems are among the regions' largest investments.
The central government budget, including support for broadband expansion.
Fastest way in?
Municipal election Views on the municipality's e-services, a citizen's proposal (medborgarförslag) on welfare technology in many municipalities.
Regional election Views through 1177, contact with the region's politicians about digital healthcare.
General election A referral response on technology proposals, a complaint to IMY if your data is handled wrongly.
EU · centre of gravityThe data protection regulation, the AI regulation and the platform rules apply directly in Sweden. If you want to shape the rules for technology, the European Parliament election is your most important vote.

Read the table by column to understand one level, or by row to compare the levels. The green level is the area's centre of gravity.

How it works: follow the decision

The case A new EU rule on AI reaches your everyday life
  1. EU

    Brussels writes the rule

    The European Commission puts forward the AI regulation after open consultations. The European Parliament and the Council of Ministers negotiate and decide.

    Point of influence

    The European Parliament election decides who negotiates. The Commission's consultations are open to private individuals too.

  2. State

    Sweden adapts and appoints watchdogs

    The Riksdag adapts Swedish law where needed, and the Government points out which agencies are to carry out oversight of the AI rules.

    Point of influence

    The general election steers the implementation, and the legislative proposals go out for open referral (remiss).

  3. Municipality

    The municipality takes stock of its technology

    The municipality's chatbot, the school's AI support and care services' safety cameras are reviewed: what counts as high risk and what requires human control?

    Point of influence

    Ask your municipality where it uses AI. You have the right to know how decisions that concern you are made.

  4. Municipality

    The systems are reworked

    The supplier updates the chatbot: it now states clearly that you are talking to a machine, and a caseworker reviews sensitive matters.

  5. Your everyday life

    You know who you are talking to

    The next time you apply for a building permit you see straight away whether the answer comes from a person or a machine. The rule that made this obvious was decided in Brussels.

The journey looks the same in reverse: what has been built came the same way, through the same decisions. Whoever knows where the decisions are made also knows where they can be changed.

Questions to discuss

  1. Where in your everyday life do you meet AI without thinking about it?

  2. Which decisions about you may a machine make, and which require a human?

  3. Does democracy keep up with technology, and what do we do when it does not?

  4. What should your municipality digitalise next, and what should it leave alone?

  5. Who should own the data about you: you, the companies or the public sector?

Glossary

AI-förordningen
The EU's framework for artificial intelligence, with stricter requirements the greater the risk the system poses.
GDPR
The EU's data protection regulation: the rules for how your personal data may be collected and used.
E-tjänst
Public service you reach digitally, such as applying for a building permit or a school place on the municipality's website.
Välfärdsteknik
Digital technology in care, such as safety alarms and monitoring cameras.
Spektrum
The radio frequencies that mobile networks and other wireless technology use, allocated by PTS.
Tillsynsmyndighet
An agency that checks that laws are followed and can step in when they are not.

Go further

Footnotes

1) This is an estimate of how decision-making power over the issue is split between the municipality, the region, central government and the EU, based on how responsibility is divided in legislation. A teaching guide, not an exact measurement.