Subject: Sweden Climbs the Information Technology Ladder

Speech Given by Prime Minister Carl Bildt at the Royal Swedish Academy
of Engineering Sciences (IVA) on 7 February 1994


CABINET OFFICE

The Prime Minister of Sweden
Internet: primeminister@gov.se 

"SWEDEN CLIMBS THE INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY LADDER"

ADDRESS BY PRIME MINISTER CARL BILDT AT THE ANNIVERSARY SYMPOSIUM OF
THE ROYAL SWEDISH ACADEMY OF ENGINEERING SCIENCES (IVA)
"M[NNISKAN-TEKNIKEN-FRAMTIDEN" STOCKHOLM, 11 A.M., MONDAY, 7 FEBRUARY
1994.

Societal evolution as we know it through history has many and varied
driving forces.  And many are they who have tried to make appropriate,
enduring laws to direct this development.

Clockwork laws, however, seldom supply satisfactory solutions.
Ultimately, development is always powered forward by the creativity
and curiosity with which we are equipped as human beings, and which
bestow on each society in each era the striving to build anew,
improve, and have more foresight.

And intrinsically, development can never be predicted in detail,
because tomorrow someone will discover what is unknown to us today
and, the day after tomorrow, will have thought of things no one has
yet been capable of imagining.

At the same time, however, it is obvious that the development of
science and technology plays a highly decisive role in how our society
develops.

New opportunities are constantly revealing themselves to human
imagination, individual creativity, and the enterprising in large and
small firms which have brought forth the dizzying development humanity
has undergone at least during the last centuries.

We are all familiar with the importance of the industrial revolution.
It is an unparalleled chapter in the common history of humankind.
When human beings first began to understand the forces of nature and
put the logic of science at their service, things were made possible
that no one could have anticipated a fraction of a fraction of.  When
our horizons became broadened, when creativity was able to express
itself, and old dogmas released their hold on the philosophies of
people and societies--then this became possible.

And the pace of development was rapid.  A poverty-stricken and
destitute Sweden, which Wilhelm Moberg's Karl-Oskar was forced to
leave for mere survival, became the highly developed and
internationalized welfare society it is today in slightly more than
three generations.

Not long ago, it was popular to say this could not go on, since we
were somehow to have reached the limits of growth.  Technology was
viewed almost as an evil that would bring on nothing but misfortune.

Complicated models fed into enormous computers indicated on enormous
diagrams the overwhelming catastrophes on their way.  The
industrialized world would sink in its overabundance, and the
underdeveloped world would drown in its poverty.  Exactly how this
collapse was to take place was unclear--but take place it would.

But it did not--and it will not.  Because the development that was
initiated by the scientific and industrial revolution is a development
in which human knowledge grows at a greater and greater pace.

In which new opportunities to solve old problems are constantly being
found--while we constantly struggle with the new problems this often
overwhelmingly rapid development brings.

The development of science and technology is crucial to how our
societies develop.  In August of 1986--now almost eight years
ago--when I took over the chair of the Moderate Party, in my very
first speech I attempted to depict how a change in science and
technology changes the preconditions of much of our societal
evolution.

Of how industrialization--with its belief in economies of scale and
standardization--had characterized development for a long period.
Certainly economically.  But also politically and
socially--collectivism in its modern form is hardly more than
industrialism's idea applied to people instead of machines.

Of how we stood on the threshold of a new era--beyond the industrial
economies of scale, beyond the social engineering--in which new
discoveries in science and technology cleared the way for changes,
decentralization, variety and the distribution of power to people in a
way only a few then could imagine.

When the first large computers came about, there were those who saw
this as the culmination of the development of planned and centralized
government.  Now all information could be collected together in one
place; now everything could be planned, controlled, and arranged with
a precision that had never before been possible.

But this never came about.  Development has instead decentralized and
spread information as never before.  Development has taken off,
leaving planning philosophers to look antiquated.  Development has
broken down barriers and barricades in a way that has knocked down
even the most powerful of totalitarian systems like rotten old
mushrooms.

And at the van of this development is the wildfire-like growth of
microelectronics and its varied applications.  If coal and steel
changed the world in their times, it is obvious that silicon has more
than overtaken that role during the last decades.



* * *


Just how giddy the pace of development has been in this area is
something of which we all have small, private examples.

The digital cellular telephone (GSM) I use today has considerably
greater computer power than the room-sized computers that first
appeared in the years following WWII.  And with the developments in
microchips currently being discussed, shortly after the turn of the
century they will have the computing power equivalent to what we now
associate with supercomputers.

When I visited the optician a few months ago to have my somewhat
battered eyeglasses straightened after a bout with my daughter, I
found the office contained no less than six separate personal
computers with varying applications.

And in forward-looking literature, I can read of anticipating being
able to integrate microchips into my eyeglasses to process different
kinds of information, communicate with the surrounding world, and
perhaps immediately show a result right on my eyeglasses.

Political work has also been revolutionized.  When I, one of the very
first in the mid 1980s, dragged an Ericsson personal computer into the
Riksdag building, there were many who thought it was mainly a gimmick.
Today, our parliament is on the verge of being one of the world's most
information-technology intensive.

When I moved into the prime minister's office at Rosenbad in the fall
of 1991, this meant moving into an environment from which modern
technology was totally absent.  Today, all my work is done on
computers.

I communicate by electronic mail (Email) not only with the Government
and coworkers, but also with the Riksdag and the party organization.
And this network is constantly being extended.  I fulfill my
responsibilities as the chairperson of the International Democrat
Union by means of an Email connection with the office in London, and,
through a connection to the Internet system, I have access to contacts
and information all over the world.

Last Friday, I sent a mail via Internet to President Clinton in the
White House to demonstrate the opportunities that exist.  His reply
came via Internet.

In a few weeks, the entire Cabinet--and the White House in
Washington--will have access to Internet.  Two central ministries are
already connected to this global network of networks, which is growing
at a rate of about 10 percent per month and is expected to access
approximately 100 million users in a few years.


* * *


This rapid technological development will affect every aspect of our
society.  What we have seen thus far is only the beginning--what we
will be seeing in the next few decades will be much more revolutionary
in nature and character.

Those of us who live and work in Sweden have been and still are
successful.  With our raw materials--forests and iron--as a base and
our industrial talents as a lever, in one century we developed more
than any other nation.

This was made possible by a state structure that was strong and
limited, by clear-cut laws for enterprise and society, and by building
up the competency and knowledge that made spearhead investments while
the benefits were allotted to all.

But now we know our economic development during the last few decades
has been less than impressive.  Politics were directed such that the
transfers outpaced growth.  And our industrial and business structure
became more directed toward that which had been instead of that which
was about to be.

Now this is changing.  Step by step, we are making Sweden into a
growth-oriented and enterprising nation with the possibility of making
the most of all the opportunities offered by the global and
technological revolution.

But this also puts great demands on us--greater demands than I believe
most participants in the public debate have realized.

A few years of strong economic development are not enough--such as we
will experience in 1994 and 1995.  We must thoroughly grasp the
spectrum of changes taking place in our surrounding world, in our
technological requirements, and in the developmental opportunities
themselves.  It requires of us a continuous adaptation, development,
and transformation.  Nostalgic calls for a return to the past are
nothing but siren songs leading to ruin.

When the industrialized world transforms itself by leaps and bounds
into the informationalized world, this does not mean that industry as
such suddenly becomes old and out of date.  Not by any means.  It will
step into the future, too, by means of what is usually called the
third industrial revolution.

But this does mean the new technologies will create the new
opportunities.  That our ability as a society to see these
opportunities, utilize them, and dare to spearhead this development,
will determine what future we leave to our children and grandchildren.

The new information technologies have penetrated Swedish society more
than most others.  The computerized Interrail generation now beginning
its long march through our institutions knows all about it.  We have
the technologies, knowledge, and competency to give us a better
footing than most others.

Without a doubt, Sweden is already a leader in Northern Europe in
information technology.  And there is no doubt that in many areas, we
are currently among the best in Europe.

But this is not enough.  We must set our sights higher.

Let us aim for the year 2010 at the latest--to by then be one of the
best and brightest globally, spearheading the utilization of every
aspect of information technology.

To choose a year is to choose a symbol.  I have chosen a very obvious
one.  In the past, we have set years by which to dismantle and forbid
technology and its use.  Now it is time instead to set a goal for the
development and use of the revolutionary technologies of the future.

* * *

The proposal for a national concerted effort to create a Swedish
infrastructure for information the IVA submitted to the Ministry of
Education and Cultural Affairs less than a month ago has an emphasis I
believe is both correct and necessary.

It is less a matter of grand new investments in hardware of one form
or another and more a matter of a broad national investment in
software in the form of use and distribution of the new technologies.

Sweden is relatively well positioned in the development of the new
information society's purely physical infrastructure.

When the importance of building electronic highways for broadband
communication comes up in the international debate, the discussion is
about an area in which we are relatively well advanced and in which
Swedish development is proceeding rapidly.

This applies to both the use of Swedish Telecom's old networks and the
new digital networks that are being constructed around Sweden and in
on-going, specialized efforts taking such forms as the Stockholm
Gigabit Network.  And, last but not least, the new opportunities that
are now becoming available for various forms of radio
communication--where Sweden is in the absolute lead worldwide.

The "rails" are laid--our shortcoming is probably more in the use and
distribution of these increasingly crucial technologies.

This same conclusion was reached by NUTEK in a recent study on
informational society infrastructure.  That there was a risk of an
excessive discrepancy between meager usage and advanced technology.
That the infrastructure, in the sense of a long-term base, is less a
function of the technology than the usage, less of the materials than
the ideas.

And that an investment in the national infrastructure should therefore
primarily be directed toward developing the use of the new
technologies.

That widespread access to rapid and simple information searches in
various forms of databases be made available.

That we gradually create the preconditions for a Sweden in which every
person can electronically retrieve information and communicate with
each other quickly, easily, safely, and inexpensively--regardless of
time and place.

With voice, computer, screen, or video.  All the opportunities of the
new technologies must be distributed as widely as it is at all
possible.

The effects will be profound.  It is a matter of saving lives,
creating jobs, revealing opportunities for each of us to obtain access
to the best education offered in the world.  This is about new
opportunities of growth and welfare.

And also a society much more decentralized and with much more
allowance for variation and choice than the old-fashioned technology
and thinking allowed.

Stockholm is now emerging as northern Europe's information-technology
capital.  Here are the leading big businesses, many of the most
exciting newly formed companies, the large research concentrations,
and the crucial investments in the future, such as the Gigabit
network.

But we can already see how information technology is creating new
conditions for towns that used to be absolutely sure they had landed
in the shadow of development.

Arvidsjaur is becoming one of the towns spearheading Swedish efforts
in information technology.  With a little help from friends such as
Microsoft, extensive investment in information technology has been
made not only in schools but also in efforts to attract new companies
to town.

And they are succeeding.  Information-technology companies are
flocking there.

Nyman & Schultz accommodated its expansion there and has in terms of
computerization and work environment constructed Europe's most modern
reservation center.  Hertz Rent A Car also has its reservation center
in Arvidsjaur working on-line with computers in Oklahoma City to
reserve rental cars for Swedish customers in locations such as Hong
Kong.  A new firm of architectural consultants is just now initiating
activities based on information technology to make architectural
drawings in Sweden for a house factory in Oregon geared toward the
Japanese market.

Arvidsjaur is not alone.  Ronneby has high- and far-reaching plans to
become an information-technology town.  Helsingborg has plans to build
a fiber-optics city-wide network.  University towns such as
Link|ping and Lule} are constantly hatching new spin-offs.

Gradually, the Swedish business structure adjusts.  A few years ago,
approximately 70,000 persons were working in the electronics industry
in Sweden and about 170,000 in remaining industry which was directly
dependent on information technology.  In light of the 15 percent
annual growth rate of latter years, however, these numbers are most
likely much higher today.

When Ericsson gets orders for mobile telephony and its advanced
telephone exchanges and employs thousands of new employees to meet its
strong expansion requirements, it creates headlines--and not without
reason.

But even more important is the new small-scale enterprising that is
emerging.  The men and women who develop new software and new systems.
Innovative thinkers who break away from the large companies and large
organizations to test the wings of a new idea--and find out it can
fly.

Throughout the world today we can see how new information technologies
reshape old business structures.  The pace of development is rapid.
Already, some of the thinking that lead to the intense focusing on the
so-called electronic highways is being outpaced by developments.

We are hearing about multimedia and virtual worlds.  And what is now
taking place is that new technological advances are causing
yesterday's separate computer, telecommunications, media, and
home-electronics industries to converge.  At the turn of the century,
as forecast by Apple Computer, the combined global industry will make
a dizzying SEK 30,000 billion in sales.

If we, here in Sweden, were responsible for only a few percent of this
rapid development in the overall information-technology field, it
would have a profound effect on our opportunities of employment and
economic development.

And I see no reason why this should not be possible.

* * *

For this to be possible, however, we need a broad national investment
in development and the use of the new information technologies.

In many ways, this is already happening--without too much fanfare.  I
have already mentioned that we are well advanced in several forms of
infrastructure for electronic communication.  The extensive efforts
the Government has made to both broaden and improve higher education
plays a crucial role in the long term, as do the extensive investments
to be made now in the research area.

Altogether, national research funding in the information-technology
field will be approximately SEK 1 billion annually.  And funding for
research and development in the private sector is many times greater
than this.

National efforts are thereby aimed at broadening usage and, with some
strategic investments, ensuring that we build an
information-technology Sweden that makes the very best use of all
technology has to offer.

This is where government plays a vital role.  It can supply leadership
and direction.  And this applies to all of government.

In my Government there is neither Minister of Computing nor Minister
of Information Technology.  In my Government, every minister is a
computing minister and an information-technology minister.

To be able to further strengthen the role of government in supplying
leadership and direction to a broad national effort in information
technologies, I will appoint a commission composed of the most
affected cabinet members--the Minister of Trade and Commerce with
responsibility for the technological development efforts; the Minister
of Communications, with immediate responsibility for
telecommunications; the Minister of Finance with responsibility for
the entire public sector's use of information technology; the Minister
of Education and Cultural Affairs with responsibility for the
ever-crucial users; and, the Minister of Justice with responsibility
for the various legal issues--to expedite in their own ways the
introduction of information technology.

In light of the importance of these issues, I will chair the
commission myself.  We will also bring in representatives from
research and business.  The immediate responsibility for leading the
work of the commission with such things as the recommendations of the
IVA study will fall to the Minister of Education and Cultural Affairs.

The core of the work of the commission will be to highlight the
opportunities and remove the obstacles and limitations that exist.

And a good deal of them require attention.  The entryways to the
electronic networks must be broadened; law-making must advance to take
on issues such as intellectual ownership; intercomputer communication
can be introduced to the world, "telemedicine" can simplify
information processing; and public information should be made
available via computer.

It's a question of stimulating computer users, pilot projects,
long-distance work, the educational system, research and
correspondence school.  It is a question of sweeping away the
obstacles to a development now running on its own steam.

And, to some extent, it is surely a question of money.

As I mentioned, as a result of decisions already made, SEK 1 billion
of public funds will now be spent on various forms of research and
development in the information-technology area.

Undeniably, more may be needed.  But the method of this Government is
never to hand out money before it is absolutely convinced that it will
be put to its best use in a specified manner.

However, when we finally liquidate the wage-earners' investment funds,
however, additional leeway will be created for the investments
required for innovational activities and information technology.

Few investments are of greater strategic importance to our future than
these.

* * *

Our experiences here at home and our interpretations of surrounding
events dictate caution in the launching of impressive plans which the
dynamics of reality might later make into disasters.

We must not let Information Technology 2010 become the information
society's equivalent of industrial society's Steel Mill '80.

In light of this history, I believe it is more strategically correct
to direct our national efforts toward broadening the use of
information technology.  And from this stems the great productivity,
welfare, and decentralization benefits to society.

Also in light of this history, it is important to view this
development not as one in which several large prestigious projects
figure centrally, but one in which we, with a research and business
climate apace of the world leaders in terms of freedom and belief in
the future, can achieve a development that truly reaches out to the
different sectors of our economy.

The wave of deregulation that is part of the global liberal system
change is central to this.  It is hard to exaggerate the importance of
this deregulation of the previously so regulated telecommunications
industry.  Worldwide and with competition for the favor of customers
as leverage, it is now leading to one technological leap after
another.

Here we are way ahead.  The new telecommunications antitrust act
passed by the Riksdag in June of last year aims at easing the way for
competition.  Telia still does hold dominating market shares, to be
sure, but applications to establish competitive companies are being
received by the Swedish Board of Telecommunications.  And I can only
welcome this possibility of pressured prices and new opportunities
that competition always provides.

And of course, the business climate and, most specifically, the
climate for start-up companies plays a decisive role for our
opportunities.

These new ideas often do best in start-ups--and a society failing to
offer good opportunities to new companies is thereby a society
increasingly locked into the old and declining.

* * *

We live in the revolutionary time of great system changes.

Political system change.  The gradual decline of collectivism.  The
decay and collapse of the centralizing and planning ideologies.  The
revolution of the market economy.  The globalization of economies.

In short:  the change to a global liberal system.

But also the technological system change which, in oversimplified,
headline style, is usually labeled the transition from industrial to
informational society.  It is not raw strength and large-scale
technologies that dominate--rather, it is the continually more refined
intelligence and small-scale technologies that do.

And the systems change together: they both require and strengthen the
other.  Just as the technologies and theories of industrialization
previously lead us into collectivism and centralization, the dawning
information society's technologies and uses are leading us into a
society that spreads power and influence, overturns pyramids, and
makes a new freedom possible.

Each change in system or era of this sort reshuffles the deck, and new
opportunities and positions are dealt to nations.  Yesterday's givens
no longer apply.

Thus, it is very important that we see the scope of the changes taking
place and the extent of the opportunities now available.

The key question for our future is whether we will be able to
reorganize our entire society for the altered prerequisites of a
completely new age as successfully as we did one hundred years ago.

The liberal and technological systems come hand in hand.  The new
information technology offers us entirely new opportunities--but
opportunities that are also open to every othe