Community Talk: Mitigating energy consumption (while) using AI

On January 21, 2025, digitalswitzerland hosted a series of high-profile events on occasion of the World Economic Forum in Davos. From a morning discussion on trustworthy digital infrastructure, to a lunch session on AI for digital characters, and concluding with an evening focused on trust in the age of AI, the day highlighted Switzerland’s opportunities in shaping the future of digital innovation.

The agenda featured a series of keynotes and discussions:

Cybersecurity: A Global Imperative
Maya Bundt, a seasoned board member and expert in cybersecurity, set the stage with an overview of the evolving threat landscape. She highlighted the significance of the national cyber strategy and emphasised the need for international cooperation in setting cyber norms. Her insights underscored that cybersecurity is a prerequisite for trust in digital infrastructure.

Humane Technology: Designing for Humanity
Tristan Harris, co-founder of the Center for Humane Technology, challenged the audience to rethink how we build and deploy technology. Drawing on themes from his speech “The AI Dilemma”, he argued for systems designed to serve humanity rather than exploit it—a call to action for ethical innovation.

Privacy and Ethics in Action
Meredith Whittaker, President of Signal, shared how ethical principles can drive the design of digital tools. Signal’s approach to privacy and user control serves as a blueprint for creating infrastructure that prioritises trust without compromising functionality.

The Role of Standards in a Connected World
Seth Dobbs, CEO of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), underlined the importance of international standards in order to foster accessibility, security, and privacy, and to ensure a balanced approach to global digital challenges. His emphasis on multi-stakeholder collaboration resonated with Switzerland’s commitment to neutrality and open governance.

Panel Discussion: Building Switzerland’s Digital Legacy
Moderated by digitalswitzerland CEO Franziska Barmettler, the panel brought together these thought leaders to discuss Switzerland’s role in the global digital ecosystem. Key takeaways included:

• Switzerland’s leadership potential: With its strong privacy laws and tradition of neutrality, Switzerland is uniquely positioned to lead in creating trusted digital infrastructure.
• Cooperation is key: Panellists agreed that fostering better collaboration among sectors and supporting start-ups will be critical to driving innovation.
• A call to action: Attendees were encouraged to focus on raising digital literacy and developing frameworks that balance opportunity and risk, ensuring that over-regulation doesn’t stifle progress.

The digitalswitzerland VIP Lunch shifted the focus to the rapidly evolving field of artificial intelligence for so-called digital characters: software entities that look and act like real or imaginary creatures in a computer-generated environment. Held at the UBS Pavilion, the event welcomed around 60 participants from business, academia, and government to explore how AI is transforming human-computer interaction.

Digital Einstein: A Case Study in AI and Human Interaction
Markus Gross, Chief Digital Officer at Disney Research Zurich and a key contributor to ETH’s Digital Einstein Platform, shared the story of how AI technologies bring the Swiss physicist and most famous ETH alumnus back to life. Through natural language processing, speech synthesis, and animation, Digital Einstein offers interactive and lifelike dialogue experiences. Gross emphasised how these advancements are shaping industries from education to entertainment, offering a glimpse into the potential of digital immortality.

Switzerland as a Hub for Responsible AI
ETH Zürich President Joël Mesot built on this theme, calling for Switzerland to leverage its strengths—such as robust privacy laws and interdisciplinary collaboration—to lead in AI innovation. Highlighting the supercomputer ALPS in Lugano as a practical example, Mesot argued that Switzerland must move beyond theoretical research to create tangible, scalable solutions.

The Human Factor in AI Development
Catrin Hinkel, CEO of Microsoft Switzerland, underscored that AI must be shaped by human values, with governance and security forming the foundation of responsible AI. She is convinced that collaboration is the key to a meaningful design of these foundations.

Panel Discussion: Advancing AI in Switzerland

Moderated by Chris Luebkeman, Head of Strategic Foresight at ETH Zurich, the panel featured a spirited discussion on Switzerland’s AI potential. Some key insights:

• The role of trust: AI systems like Digital Einstein demonstrate how responsible design fosters user trust. Panellists called for robust frameworks to ensure transparency and accountability.
• AI literacy at scale: As AI becomes more pervasive, panellists emphasised the need to educate citizens and leaders alike to harness its benefits responsibly.
• Switzerland’s unique position: The panellists highlighted the country’s privacy-focused governance, world-class research institutions, and commitment to neutrality as factors that can propel it to the forefront of responsible AI development.
• A collaborative call to action: To accelerate progress, attendees were urged to strengthen cross-sector partnerships, invest in AI education, and provide start-ups with fertile ground for innovation.

As CEO Franziska Barmettler shared in her closing remarks, the discussions at the VIP Lunch are just the beginning of digitalswitzerland’s work in the field of AI. Future initiatives include:

• Launch of an AI working group (February 2025): Together with Implement Consulting, digitalswitzerland will convene experts to define Switzerland’s leadership in responsible AI.
• Ongoing engagements: The Digital Summit in May and participation at the Locarno Film Festival will offer platforms to further explore AI and digital innovation.
• AI regulation discussions: As the Swiss government kicks off regulatory talks with the KI-Auslegeordnung, digitalswitzerland is committed to contributing to a balanced, forward-thinking framework.

With the spotlight on digital trust and artificial intelligence (AI), the digitalswitzerland VIP evening event provided a platform to explore the evolving relationship between trust and technology, and to celebrate a significant milestone for the Swiss Digital Initiative’s (SDI) Digital Trust Label.

The Intersection of AI and Digital Trust
As digitalswitzerland President Andreas Meyer highlighted in his opening remarks, trust is no longer just an ethical consideration—it is a cornerstone for AI adoption. With the rapid integration of AI into digital services, the stakes for ensuring transparency, accountability, and user confidence have never been higher.

Manoj Mehta, President of Cognizant EMEA, underlined this point, sharing how trust forms the backbone of successful digital transformation. Mehta emphasised that building trustworthy AI requires more than just technology; it demands a focus on people, processes, and governance.

Panel Discussion: Implementing Trustworthy AI
Moderated by Nicolas Zahn, Director of the Swiss Digital Initiative, the panel brought together various experts from the field:

• Aymeric Riverieulx, Head of Digital Trust Assurance, SGS: Discussing the importance of third-party verification in building trust.
• Babak Hodjat, PhD, CTO AI, Cognizant: Exploring how organisations can balance innovation with trustworthiness in AI development.
• Dr. Rehana Harasgama, Associate, Bär & Karrer, board member of the Swiss Association of AI Law: Highlighting the role of transparency in fostering trust in AI systems.
• Prof. Philip Howard, Director of Oxford University’s Programme on Democracy and Technology: Examining the global regulatory landscape for AI and digital trust.

Key takeaways from the panel included:

• Balancing Innovation and Trust: Panellists acknowledged that while AI has immense potential, it introduces unique challenges in maintaining user trust. Organisations must prioritise ethical considerations and implement clear standards for AI systems.
• The Role of Regulation and Education: A well-defined regulatory framework, combined with initiatives to improve AI literacy, can ensure responsible AI development without stifling innovation.
• Switzerland’s Position as a Leader: With its reputation for neutrality and quality, Switzerland has the opportunity to set global benchmarks for trustworthy AI.

The Digital Trust Label: Start of a new chapter
The event also marked the launch of the next chapter for the Digital Trust Label, a project launched by the Swiss Digital Initiative. The handover of the label to SGS, a global leader in testing, inspection, and certification, was celebrated as a natural evolution of the project. Doris Leuthard, SDI President, and Jan Meemken of SGS shared the label’s journey from an innovative concept to a verifiable standard.

Meemken emphasised SGS’s commitment to maintaining the label’s high standards while scaling its impact internationally. By incorporating AI-specific criteria, the label now provides actionable tools for organisations to ensure trustworthiness in the intelligence age. The partnership with SGS signals the initiative’s readiness to meet the growing global demand for trusted digital services.

Thank you and see you next year!
The team at digitalswitzerland would like to thank all the members, partners, and speakers who contributed their time and expertise to these events. Your participation was instrumental in fostering thoughtful discussions on trust, AI, and Switzerland’s role in digital innovation. Looking ahead, we are keen to build on these conversations and work towards turning ideas into practical initiatives over the coming year. We look forward to continuing this journey together and to welcoming you back to Davos next year for further discussions and collaboration.