This week, we’re spotlighting Anna Felländer, a leader in Responsible AI Governance on a mission to make “good AI universal.” Since 2016, she has bridged policy, tech, and business to help organizations scale AI safely. Anna is the co-founder of Asenion, an AI Governance Platform for Risk Intelligence and Audit Readiness, helping companies treat ethical risks as “AI pollution” and navigate the EU AI Act while protecting human rights. She is the President of the Asenion Europe Office.
A staunch advocate for European AI sovereignty, Anna champions small open models that protect the public interest and tackle global crises like climate change. She believes the Nordic region is uniquely positioned to lead this shift by merging societal values with sustainable business. For Anna, the goal is clear: ensuring AI transformation remains human-centric-guiding the technology rather than being guided by it.
Hyperight.com: What’s the best way to describe your job to someone outside tech?
Anna Felländer: I’m a co-founder of a company making good AI universal.
Hyperight.com: What originally sparked your interest in AI/data, and what keeps you inspired today?
Anna Felländer: It started from an economic perspective – analyzing the ethical risk from AI as a “negative externality”, a form of AI pollution that the large tech giants did not take accountability for. And they still are not…And the fight for AI with human values at the core, still sparks me. 
Also, what sparks me is to help Europe achieve AI Sovereignty. One path ahead is building up Europe’s own capacity by investing at scale starting with small, open models that both protect the public interest and catalyse innovation. On European terms.
Hyperight.com: What is one challenge you’re trying to solve, and why does it matter?
Anna Felländer: To help all organizations implement AI that humans can trust. This means maximizing the value of AI and minimizing harm. It means leading AI to solve the problems we really like to solve – like the environmental crisis, curing disease and eliminating poverty – not adding another gaming or shopping experience to your device.
Hyperight.com: A tool you can’t live without (tech or not)?
Anna Felländer: Perplexity
Hyperight.com: What trend in data or AI do you think will shape the Nordic region the most?
Anna Felländer: Responsible AI Governance based on Nordic Values. The Nordics have experience for combining values with sustainable business models. The EU AI Act will not hamper innovation and the speed of AI adoption. On the contrary, with AI Governance support, it is guiding European organizations and start-ups to achieve sustainable and strong business models that Europeans can trust.
Hyperight.com: What’s one piece of advice you’d give to others entering the data and AI field?
Anna Felländer: AI transformation is as much about people and operations as it is about models. On that note, AI is either augmenting or replacing humans. As we learn what AI can do, we’ll learn where AI falls short compared to the human brain. I believe that the beauty of human intuition, spirituality and human-to-human-connection will be more recognized and higher valued in the future compared with today.
We are fortunate to live in a very exciting time when it comes to technology. But we’ve come to a crossroad. Do we guide AI, or will it be the other way around?
