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)

This article first appeared in Netzwoche.

Kontaktstelle Wirtschaft Zug has commissioned the Zug-based agency Dynamite to develop the content for the new website and to take contemporary photos of the economic area in the canton of Zug. Various architectural and innovative company locations as well as the attractive working environment were captured in photographs.

Among other things, the website shows that the canton of Zug attracts international specialists. The architectural diversity, scenic beauty and recreational areas in Zug contribute to the quality of life.

Responsible at the Business Contact Point Zug: Beat Bachmann (Head); Thomas Fuchs (Deputy Head); Ursula Kottmann Müller (Media and Marketing); Yvonne Valentino (Office Manager). Responsible for Dynamite: Roger Bosshart (consulting and text); Ralitsa Ruseva (art direction); Aleksandra Wolkow (graphics); Fotosolar (photography).

The canton of Basel-Landschaft is embarking on the digital transformation of its administration. This will require many new ICT specialists. The personnel market is currently dry and the canton has tight guidelines for compensation.

The Basel West agency has therefore developed a campaign under the "BL digital+" brand that focuses on identification with meaningful work. Punchy video clips tell of the advantages of a job with the canton. For this purpose, a Landing page set up with arguments and a link to the advertised positions. Employees of the canton are informed via their own landing page and other media and motivated to distribute the videos in their environment instead of a scatter budget.

According to the agency, the campaign resulted in numerous applications within a few weeks. It will be continued on an ongoing basis.

Responsible at Canton Basel-Landschaft: Rolf Wirz (National Chancellery/Head of Newsroom BL digital+); Bartolino Biondi (Finance and Church Directorate); Carmen Brun (Security Directorate); Manoj Thanathethu (Economic and Health Directorate). Responsible for Basel West Corporate Communications: Markus Siegenthaler (consulting); Thomas Aerni (conception); Willi Näf (text); Roman Albertini (design); Florian Moritz (videos).

The Federal Council and the federal administration have been using social media for communication for many years. Social media support them in fulfilling their legal mandate to provide information because they reach parts of the population there, especially younger people, whom they would have difficulty reaching through other channels.

Now, the Federal Chancellery has decided to give it a try on Mastodon, according to a statement from the Confederation. As "Social.admin.ch"The Federal Chancellery is available to the Federal Council and the departments for registering official accounts. Users with an account with another authority can follow the accounts on Social.admin.ch and read their content.

Currently, the FDFA, the FDHA and the EAER intend to operate one or more official accounts on social.admin.ch, according to the statement. The Federal Chancellery itself operates an account for the Federal Council spokesperson.

Mastodon is fundamentally attractive for government communication, according to the federal government. Because the platform is organized in a decentralized manner and does not run via a central server, it is beyond the control of both an individual company and government censorship authorities. In addition, Mastodon is data protection-friendly: the operators of the instances decide what happens to user data. The instance of the Federal Chancellery is also operated in a data protection-friendly manner.

In the course of the rapid development of social media, the federal administration is continuously examining whether new or previously unused platforms could be considered for its communications. This includes the pilot test with Mastodon, which is limited to one year. Then the federal administration intends to decide on how to proceed.

Four modules and half as many pages

The core objectives of the Federal Administrative Court's new website were to adapt the design and increase clarity. The project managers reduced the number of content pages by more than half. Compared to the previous version, the BVGer website now uses the entire width of the screen, which is particularly beneficial for the expressive header images.

But also technologically a lot has happened in the relaunch. Modules for the media releases, the blog, the reference judgments or the staff directory are intended to enable easier content management and help find the desired information more quickly. "We have succeeded in building a website for our court that comes across as modern and at the same time serious," says project manager Lukas Würmli, digital communication specialist at the BVGer.

Decision database also revised

A few weeks before the go-live of the website, the new BVGer decision database was also unveiled. The IT Service Center redesigned the search interface and cast the database in a contemporary design. The court's main communication channel can be accessed via the home page of the new website at Bvger.ch retrievable.

In a first phase, the EPD campaign to health professionals, because they are important actors for the dissemination of the EPD and patients have great trust in them. The campaign informs health professionals about the EPD and its benefits and is intended to encourage them to join the EPD. It also allows health professionals to engage with the topic. An important role in establishing the EPD among health professionals throughout Switzerland is also played by the cantons, associations and organizations, as well as tribal communities. In a second phase, the general population will be informed. This is to take place in the course of 2024.

In order to reach as many health professionals as possible, paid advertising - print/online ads, presence on social media and more - as well as media work are planned. In parallel, the channels of the cantons, associations and organizations will be used to disseminate information about the EPD. This should give the campaign maximum impact.

Responsible agency: Farner I Team Farner.

In the message published on Friday, the government council cited massive cost increases on the part of suppliers as the reason for the higher operating costs. In order to ensure the operational capability of the plant, an increase in the commitment credit is necessary.

The government council wrote in its message to the Grand Council that the rescue and security authorities and all partners depend on secure and highly available telecommunications systems for efficient command and emergency communications. The maintenance and servicing work is therefore a top priority.

Polycom is the security radio network of Switzerland's rescue and security authorities and organizations (BORS), in which the federal government and cantons have invested a total of around 1 billion Swiss francs to date. This radio network provides a highly available, tap-proof communications platform that is protected from interference.

After around 20 years of operation, the radio network needed to be technically renewed. For the value maintenance of the security radio network, the Grand Council decided in November 2017 on a commitment credit for a one-time gross expense of 3.5 million francs and an annually recurring gross expense of 210,000 francs, which is no longer sufficient. The budget for the one-off costs for the project can be met, as the government council noted. (SDA)