CAIO Portrait: Øyvind Brekkhus Sandåker on building AI for food systems
Meet our Chief AI Officer — the architect behind Day of Week's AI strategy and the systems that power everything from ChefAI profiles to platform intelligence.
Øyvind Brekkhus Sandåker is Chief AI Officer at Day of Week, where he leads the company's AI strategy across products, platforms, and long-term direction. With a background spanning developer, CTO, and everything in between, Øyvind brings a rare combination of hands-on engineering experience and strategic perspective to AI — shaped by years of building, breaking, and rebuilding real systems.
At Day of Week, his responsibility goes far beyond adopting new technology. His role is to ensure that intelligence is woven deeply and responsibly into everything the company builds — from how producers are represented, to how data is understood, connected, and turned into meaningful action across the platform. The goal is not AI for its own sake, but systems that create clarity, reduce friction, and unlock new value in complex food ecosystems.
Øyvind Brekkhus Sandåker
Co-Founder & Chief AI Officer
Day of Week
A fundamental shift in how software gets built
Øyvind believes software development is undergoing a fundamental shift. What was once a highly specialized craft is becoming something far more accessible. As AI lowers the barrier between intent and implementation, more people can now participate in building digital systems — not by writing perfect code, but by expressing clear intent, asking better questions, and understanding outcomes.
In this new reality, natural language is increasingly becoming the interface to software, and the ability to think, reason, and communicate precisely matters as much as traditional programming skills.
The role of engineers — elevated, not diminished
This shift does not diminish the role of engineers — it elevates it. As AI enables faster creation, the importance of verification, architectural thinking, security, and long-term performance becomes even greater.
Øyvind is deeply committed to the idea that understanding what is being built — and why — is more important than ever, whether the output is code, content, or complex systems.
In practice
- Verification over velocity
- Architectural thinking at every level
- Security and long-term performance as first-class concerns
- Understanding the “why” behind what gets built
“AI is a powerful tool, but it is human judgment, responsibility, and creativity that give it direction.”
Øyvind Brekkhus Sandåker — Co-Founder & CAIO, Day of Week
AI as a force for abundance
He is also motivated by AI's broader societal potential. Used well, AI can help unlock abundance — empowering people, strengthening independence, and enabling smarter use of resources. In the context of food systems, this means creating stronger connections from soil to table, helping great raw materials find the right kitchens, and ensuring that technology supports both sustainability and human dignity.
As Chief AI Officer, Øyvind's mission is to help Day of Week build AI that serves people first: practical, transparent, and trustworthy. That philosophy shapes both the systems he helps design and the culture he helps grow at Day of Week.