Switzerland to take a leading role in digitization
The government must commit to providing more resources for digitalization: Federal President Ueli Maurer and Federal Councilor Simonetta Sommaruga outlined the need for federal action in response to advancing digitalization at the national «Digital Switzerland» conference.
Switzerland is fundamentally well positioned in the dynamic development of digitization, Maurer said in his opening speech at the national Digital Switzerland 2019 conference on Monday at the Congress Center Basel. However, further efforts and resources are needed if the country wants to become a global leader in this field. He mentioned blockchain and fintech as keywords.
Maurer particularly addressed human resources for research and start-ups in this field. Switzerland needs the world's best specialists, he said. Unbureaucratic regulations are needed here - also with regard to third-country quotas, which still restrict development too much.
Maurer also sees a need for action in cybersecurity. "Switzerland must be one of the world's most secure countries," he said. At the same time, the state must also be prepared to take risks, he added.
Half full glass
Maurer cited artificial intelligence, one of the main topics at the conference, as the next big challenge. If Switzerland can also take on a leading role here, then the fear of job losses can be minimized, he said.
The Federal President was basically optimistic about the country's digital future, but also mentioned shortcomings. While research and development are doing very well, the country is still in the middle of the pack when it comes to application. In administration in particular, digitization is only developing at a slow pace. Maurer used the term "glass half full" here.
Strengthen regional online media
As media minister, Federal Councillor Simonetta Sommaruga spoke about the challenges of digitization for the media and, as a consequence, for direct democracy. She said that if algorithms increasingly determined what people could read and what they could not, direct democracy in Switzerland would also suffer.
The Switzerland of the regions is dependent on relevant journalism in regional online media, because otherwise no broad political debate can take place, Sommaruga said. However, she said, these have difficulty financing their offerings through advertising, which is increasingly being diverted to the large corporations Google or Facebook.
"In Silicon Valley, you have other things to worry about than a new school building in the Bernese Oberland," she said as a figurative example. The Federal Council, she said, therefore wants to promote online payment media in order to set the right approaches. "We can't just stand by and let the big corporations dictate the rules to us."
At the invitation of the federal government, around a thousand people took part in the national Digital Switzerland 2019 conference. Among them were specialists, but also young people who were specifically addressed.
In addition to appearances by the President of the Swiss Confederation and the Federal Councillor, speakers and discussions included philosophy professor Luciano Floridi from Oxford, Mozilla CEO Michell Baker, Secretary of State Martina Hirayama and Martin Vetterli, President of EPF Lausanne, on the power of machines and the opportunities and risks of artificial intelligence. (SDA)
