Sasa Kivisaari

I am a Senior Expert at Sitra, Finland’s innovation fund, where I lead work on accelerating the real‑world deployment and scaling of artificial intelligence in social and healthcare systems. My focus is on moving beyond isolated pilots towards solutions that are embedded in everyday services and deliver measurable impact at system level.

My work sits at the intersection of policy, funding, and implementation. I work closely with national ministries, wellbeing service counties, and the wider European health AI ecosystem, to support adoption at scale.

My background combines neuroscience, pharma, consulting and applied AI development. I have worked on building data‑driven management capabilities for healthcare systems and on designing AI applications for both public and private sector use. Across these roles, I have seeked opportunities where AI can meaningfully reallocate scarce professional time and create value rather than adding complexity.

What motivates my work is ensuring that AI is deployed in a way that is responsible, sustainable, and aligned with public trust. Implemented well, AI enables human expertise to be focused where it matters most. I am particularly interested in the role of governance, incentives, and public‑private collaboration in making this shift possible across entire service chains. I actively engage in international dialogue on how health and social care systems can harness AI responsibly while navigating regulation, organisational change, and workforce realities.