In the vision, the information society is based on meaningful services, a high-quality infrastructure and open standards. The technology will not, however, replace the human touch needed in different fields, such as nursing. The vision also addressed themes such as democracy, freedom and availability of information and working in the information society.

Following on this theme, other bloggers also touched upon the subject of information. In today’s society, controlling information is comparable to controlling the means and results of production. Most businesses race toward controlling and limiting the availability of information – seen especially in the increasing importance of intellectual property rights – and making information a commodity with a price tag. This trend is being supported by the government, for example, by allowing financial actors take a more dominant role in the University system. As a counter reaction, the public (such as the students) are raising their voice, and becoming more radical.

Jari Kaivo-oja’s blog entry on creativity and ensuring the quality of innovations raised heated discussion on the subject. The decline of the traditional industries, such as forestry and the metal industry, prompts the society to shift the focus to other domains. In 2006, the Ministry of Education published a list of 11 practical steps toward becoming a more creative and innovative nation. In addition to the creative industries, the creative skills must be applied in all industry domains in order to achieve true innovations.

The next Finnish foresight expert in the continuous series was Leena Ilmola who is working with her doctoral dissertation in the Helsinki University of Technology. She currently works with the Extreme Events in Human Systems project in the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Vienna.