Is it wrong for an AI measure to aim at more capacity rather than less work?

No. Handling more cases with the same people is a good goal. The requirement is that the measure names the step that makes the extra capacity possible, and measures that step before and after. Without that measurement nobody knows whether the capacity came from the AI tool, from more staff or from fewer applications.

How do we describe the work step that should go away in a funding application?

Describe the step the way the case handler would describe it, with how often it is done each month and how long it takes today. Also write down what it takes for the step to count as gone, for example that the case moves on without anyone opening it.

Does this apply to municipalities too?

Yes. A municipality that adopts a shared AI solution from central government still has to name the step that will go away in its own process. A shared solution saves development work across organisations, but it removes no work in a single municipality until someone decides which step it should take over.

Who should own the target figure in a public organisation?

The person who owns the process the measure is meant to change, and not the IT department or the supplier. The IT department can say whether the tool works. The process owner can say whether the work is actually gone, and has the authority to change the rules when the figure does not move.

Business

Norway's 2027 budget puts NOK 2.2 billion into AI and digitalisation. Which work goes away?

The Norwegian government is proposing about NOK 2.2 billion for AI and new digitalisation measures in 2027. In its press release, 45 of the 2,151.2 million kroner are tied to measures that say work will be reduced. The money has been counted. The work that is meant to disappear has not.

By Sveinung Totland3 min readOctober 9, 2026

A tall stack of printed application folders held with paper clips on an oak desk, next to a laptop turned away, a coffee cup and a notebook with handwriting. The office chair in front of a concrete wall is empty.

What happened?

The Norwegian government presented its 2027 state budget on 7 October 2026, with about NOK 2.2 billion for AI and new digitalisation measures, up from NOK 1.6 billion in 2026. Torgeir Micaelsen (Labour), the minister for digitalisation and public governance, highlighted more than NOK 120 million in extra AI funding, including model evaluation at KI Norge, a shared generative AI solution for central government, and AI tools for licence processing at NVE, the Norwegian Water Resources and Energy Directorate.

Why is the budget read as a question of money?

The budget is read as a question of money because the amount is the only figure the press release gives. The debate that follows is about who got enough and who got too little.

That reading skips what the money is meant to remove. The press release promises more efficient public services and higher productivity. Among the new measures, two say in their text that work will go away: NOK 20 million to NVE, which will "reduce manual work", and NOK 25 million to a shared AI solution that will reduce duplicated work. The press release does not use the word automation, and it states no hours or costs to be saved.

2 percent

of the NOK 2,151.2 million for new digitalisation measures in Norway's 2027 budget goes to measures the press release says will reduce work. Source: Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance, 7 October 2026, calculation by Apps AS.

Much of the rest is not meant to remove work, and should not be. Telecom security and preparedness (NOK 451.3 million) and protection against cyberattacks at the Norwegian Public Roads Administration (NOK 100 million) are bought to reduce risk. The point applies to the AI money justified by productivity. The government also plans to look into better data on AI use and its economic effects. In other words, the measurement comes after the money.

What follows if automation removes work?

The claim behind our pillar From digitalisation to automation is that digitalisation moved work onto a screen, and that automation removes the work. If the claim holds, an AI measure without a named work step to remove is a digitalisation measure with new technology.

The NVE measure shows the difference. It is meant to free up case-handling time "so that more applications can be processed". More processed applications is a good goal, and it is a capacity goal. The figure that tells you whether the AI tool worked is how many steps in a licence case no longer need a case handler, and how many cases come back to be handled again.

What does Apps AS do before a process is automated?

Apps AS writes down which step will go away before anything is built. Three things have to be on paper.

Before building
The step that goes away has a name. One work step a person does today, described precisely enough that anyone can see whether the step still exists a year from now. If nobody can name the step, the measure is digitalisation. The criteria we use are in Which processes can be automated?
Before go-live
The baseline has been measured. Share of cases finished without a person, return rate, cost per case and time to closed case, measured for at least four weeks before the automation goes live. Why the baseline cannot be reconstructed afterwards is in How do you measure whether automation worked?
After launch
The process has an owner. A named person owns the rules and the figure after launch, with a date for when the figure will be checked. Why ownership is an operations task is in the anchor article Personalization is an operations task, not a campaign.

Send us one measure and the step it should remove

If you work on an AI or digitalisation measure that is funded in 2027, write down the measure and the work step it should remove, in one sentence each. Send the two sentences to hello@apps.no. We will reply with the figure we would measure before you start.

Sources

Ministry of Digitalisation and Public Governance (Norway), Foreslår kraftfull satsing på KI og digitalisering, press release, 7 October 2026, read 8 October 2026. regjeringen.no
Apps AS, How do you measure whether automation worked?, read 8 October 2026. apps.no

About this article. Written by Sveinung Totland, CEO of Apps. A take with the pillar From digitalisation to automation as its lens. Amounts and quotes come from the ministry's press release of 7 October 2026, which is in Norwegian; the quotes are our translation. The budget proposition itself has not been read, and it may describe the expected benefits of individual measures in more detail than the press release. The 2 percent share is Apps AS' own calculation: 45 of NOK 2,151.2 million. The article uses no client figures.

FAQ

Is it wrong for an AI measure to aim at more capacity rather than less work?: No. Handling more cases with the same people is a good goal. The requirement is that the measure names the step that makes the extra capacity possible, and measures that step before and after. Without that measurement nobody knows whether the capacity came from the AI tool, from more staff or from fewer applications.
How do we describe the work step that should go away in a funding application?: Describe the step the way the case handler would describe it, with how often it is done each month and how long it takes today. Also write down what it takes for the step to count as gone, for example that the case moves on without anyone opening it.
Does this apply to municipalities too?: Yes. A municipality that adopts a shared AI solution from central government still has to name the step that will go away in its own process. A shared solution saves development work across organisations, but it removes no work in a single municipality until someone decides which step it should take over.
Who should own the target figure in a public organisation?: The person who owns the process the measure is meant to change, and not the IT department or the supplier. The IT department can say whether the tool works. The process owner can say whether the work is actually gone, and has the authority to change the rules when the figure does not move.