Are you curious about how artificial intelligence affects our society, or whether social media can be a resource for public services? Do you find it exciting to explore how digitization impacts school, work, and leisure? These are some of the questions for research within the Technology and Society group
at the research institute.

A recently initiated research project seeks to develop new methods to combat online hate speech and misinformation. The project has a total budget of more than NOK 19 million and is coordinated by Western Norway Research Institute (WNRI).
"This is an ambitious project which combines research and innovation to contribute to solving a societal problem", says project coordinator Rajendra Akerkar.

The Research Council of Norway recently announced that Western Norway Research Institute and its partners will receive more than NOK 19 million to conduct research into artificial intelligence, big data, and social media. The project seeks put an end to online hate speech and radicalisation through developing new methods based on big data.

With an international career in research, 16 scientific book titles and a large network stretching across the globe, Rajendra Akerkar is one of Sogndal's academic stars. The Big Data Professor is currently working to recruit young researchers to his field of research, as two positions are open this summer in the field of big data and innovation in regional businesses.

Researchers at Western Norway Research Institute have conducted an evaluation of "Girls and Technology", a programme intended to inspire more girls to choose an education within technology and science. The report was commissioned by The Norwegian Directorate for Children, Youth and Family Affairs (Bufdir).

A new, collaborative forum has been established to address research and innovation issues in Vestland county. A key goal is to promote and strengthen research which stimulates R&D linked to innovation and sustainability.

This book offers a practical guide to artificial intelligence (AI) techniques that are used in business.

The third LeMO project meeting was held in Sogndal, Norway on the 19th to 21st of June 2018.

Vestlandsforsking presented 3 papers at the Second Nordic Challenge conference arranged by the Centre for Nordic Studies (CENS), University of Helsinki, running between 7‒9 March 2018.

We have successfully completed the first two-days LeMO project board workshop on “Setting the Stage on Big Data in Transportation” at Frankfurt Big Data Lab from 22-23 January 2018.

Vestlandsforsking brings together researchers from the United States, Japan, Hong Kong and Norway in Bergen to discuss how big data can help manage emergencies.

Researcher Svein Ølnes held the keynote presentation at this year's eGov conference in St. Petersburg, Russia.