Nordic Perspectives on Collaborative AI for Blue-collar Work (CAI-BLUE)

CAI-BLUE investigates how collaborative AI agents – adaptive, interactive systems that work alongside human teams – can support communication, learning, and shared understanding in blue-collar workplaces. Unlike AI systems focused on automation or surveillance, these agents are designed to empower workers: helping troubleshoot work task issues, facilitate multilingual communication, document complex processes, and provide context-aware feedback to both individual workers and teams. A central objective of CAI-BLUE is to create understanding of how AI adoption in blue-collar contexts can be fitting, feasible and ethically grounded. CAI-BLUE examines critical issues such as worker autonomy, technological acceptance, and the psychosocial effects of AI. 

The research consortium brings together multiple disciplines from Tampere University, Aalborg University, NTNU and Stockholm University, covering the fields of human-computer interaction, workplace studies, and organisational psychology. The research will employ methods such as ethnography, conversation analysis, and design to create ecologically valid results about AI’s fit in the workplace. Through participatory design and real-world studies in collaboration with Nordic companies, the project explores how AI can enhance rather than disrupt everyday work. 

The project will produce design guidelines, evaluation frameworks, and prototypes that contribute to a socially sustainable and responsible integration of AI in the Nordic workplace.

NordForsk