Almedalen Week 2026 largely revolved around defense, security and – of course – AI. Here, Omegapoint representatives share what they are taking home from Gotland.

Anna-Clara Söderbaum, COO:

”"We are in a fantastic social change that will create a lot of madness. And it is in that madness that innovation is born. It is a blessing to be in it, first and foremost. Here in Visby, most of it has revolved around cybersecurity or AI. What is interesting is how we seem to view the two subjects as isolated phenomena. Today, it should not be about AI or not, but about how we relate to each other. When it comes to AI, we have no choice, that type of intelligence will change production Sweden and we will have to calculate in new ways, just like during industrialization. Where are people needed and where are they not needed. The same applies to cybersecurity, many are fumbling and talking about it instead of relating and letting security permeate the entire organization. At the same time, we have seen that many conversations in Almedalen have touched on just that."”

Jonas Hasselberg, Group CEO:

”This year’s edition of Almedalen is lively, lively and energetic. Our questions are of great interest and everyone wants to talk about our areas of expertise. The geopolitical outlook is starting to brighten somewhat, the economy is as well, and we see that Sweden is making progress in everything that is being done to increase preparedness. Last year there was a lot of talk about what we have to do from a preparedness perspective – this year we see it happening. There is a belief in the future and a positive view of the possibilities of technology.

Geopolitics and defense issues have become very dominant. The issue creates lively discussions and the issues are starting to be raised to a higher level of society. Today, cybersecurity is not just about bad guys who want to access information, but increasingly about how different actors could influence the opinions of an entire country.

Another reflection is that many people talk about AI as a stand-alone phenomenon that will solve everything. But you have to look at AI from a larger business perspective and here some interesting examples are highlighted where AI is rather one of many technology components in entire business initiatives.”

Dan Bergh Johnsson, AI security expert:

”First, there is a growing awareness of the role that security can play. Security is starting to be seen as urgently important, partly due to the Mythos discussions. The feeling among many is that we can’t snooze for much longer. There is a growing awareness that if you do, you risk getting into trouble. People are experiencing the situation more acutely and less hypothetically.

Secondly, there is a growing realization that security, previously seen as a necessary evil, is increasingly being seen as an enabler. Compare this to driving a car with or without a seatbelt. With your seatbelt on, you automatically feel safer behind the wheel and can maintain a steady, high speed. Without your seatbelt on, you crawl and don't dare to accelerate. Good cybersecurity provides the same security and speed.

In addition, I have been convinced that we need to focus more on how AI affects our workflows, more than on how AI affects individual work steps. To tie back to security, these are similar mechanisms, security is not about optimizing individual small steps, but about achieving a safer, stronger flow. AI and security are both enablers and are more similar to each other than we previously thought.”

Daniel Deogun, Business Manager Academy: 

”"Resilience is a societal problem and not an IT problem. All of us who work with it every day know that, but awareness of it is lower among many others. It is also clear that the knowledge of technicians, developers and organizations about how to build systems with AI needs to be strengthened. With the rapid development and potent AI tools, it is even more challenging today. If yesterday you worked with a wooden hammer, today you have access to a laser hammer. Knowledge is key. Many organizations are groping around how AI can be used profitably, they try and try, and are still in a state of experimentation. Then it is easy to forget about security. It is important to continue talking about how it is a business continuity issue rather than an IT problem, the entire business must be involved."”