Canton of Aargau focuses on AI strategy
The Canton of Aargau is presenting its AI strategy, including the first projects for its implementation. The strategy is intended to enable the responsible implementation of AI applications in public administration and to optimize government processes.
The canton of Aargau has its own AI strategy. It had been written since January 2025 - "now it has finally been released", as Syrian Hadad, Head of Technology and Solution Development in the canton, explains, announces on his LinkedIn profile. The strategy divides artificial intelligence into three categories, which should help to invest wisely in projects.
According to Hadad, the strategy differentiates between specialist AI, generative AI and a combination of the two. Specialist AI is preferably used in administration, while generative AI applications are used by a broader audience, for example for creating content or processing language. The interplay of both forms combines specialist knowledge with generative performance, creating AI assistants that "understand what is needed", Hadad writes.
The aim of the strategy - in whose development the Bern University of Applied Sciences was also involved - is to "create a secure, transparent and ethically responsible framework for the use of AI technologies in order to optimize administrative processes and provide a broader basis for data-based decisions", according to the strategy paper.
Next steps
The canton of Aargau is already working on several AI projects, as Hadad explains. For example, the canton's own secure open source platform for generative AI has been integrated into the canton's IT. It is based on various models, such as Llama from Swisscom, GPT4o and other models from Microsoft Azure's EU Data Bounding. This guarantees the canton technical, legal and financial independence, assures the cantonal IT manager.
Furthermore, an intelligent bot will soon go live that answers questions about the process of applying for scholarships - based on cantonal specialist logic. The company is also working with Adnovum on a RAG-based voicebot based on Microsoft Azure Speech Services and Azure AI Search. The voicebot should not only be able to understand spoken language, but also refer to internal knowledge in order to provide precise answers.
Privacy
The strategy of the Canton of Aargau also includes guidelines for dealing with AI, including with regard to transparency, security and legal compliance. The canton also pays particular attention to the classification and processing of data. The Canton of Aargau's data classification is intended to "systematically categorize data based on its need for protection in order to ensure uniform and legally compliant processing."
The Data Science Board is tasked with ensuring that AI innovations comply with the data classification requirements and process data in accordance with the defined standards. (Dajana Dakic/rja)
