Artificial intelligence promises to revolutionise society, there is no way around this impression. This is why this year's Swiss IT Congress (SITC 2024) focused on both the promises and the challenges of this transformative technology.  The event aimed to explore not just what AI can achieve, but also how it will impact us as a society.

The congress featured speakers from diverse fields such as education, the public sector, and law, who delved into the ethics of artificial intelligence and the language we use to discuss it. The first speaker, Professor Nardelli, placed AI in a historical context, explaining how AI can make the language of informatics as accessible as natural language did for human knowledge and quantitative language for mathematics. However, he also cautioned that AI requires educated users as it has syntactic competence but lacks semantic understanding.

The following speakers, Bertrand Loison and Nicolas Capt, approached AI from a legal standpoint. Loison discussed the public sector's approach and current initiatives, while Capt highlighted the conflicts between AI and existing laws, particularly regarding copyright and identity theft. Both stressed the urgent need for clear legal guidance and regulation.

The final two speakers, Professor Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo and Dr. Lamia Friha, both from the University of Geneva, spoke about the innovations AI brings to academia and the challenges of integrating these new tools into education. They advocated for embracing AI rather than banning it, anticipating further developments in this rapidly evolving field.

SITC 2024 provided fresh insights into artificial intelligence to our members, sparking discussions that will continue to evolve. One thing is clear: AI requires ongoing dialogue and thoughtful consideration.

Speakers at this event:

Prof. Enrico Nardelli, University of Roma "Tor Vergata"
Bertrand Loison, Swiss Federal Statistical Office (FSO)
Nicolas Capt, Quinze Cours des Bastions
Prof. Giovanna Di Marzo Serugendo, University of Geneva
Dr. Lamia Friha, University of Geneva

Moderated by Dr. Nora Sleumer, SI Vice President

You can find the presentations as PDFs (in English) by following the link below:

The Swiss Informatics Society SI celebrated its 40th anniversary in 2023. We received our esteemed members and representatives from our partner organisations on Friday, November 17th, at Hotel Schweizhof in Bern for an anniversary celebration. While looking back on our forty years of history with IT in Switzerland we also wanted to look forward at things to come.

With presentations on ‚DNA as Data Storage‘ by Prof. Pierre-Yves Burgi from the University of Geneva and on ‚Post-Quantum Cryptography‘ by Dr. Sonia Duc from Adnovum we had our eyes firmly set on the future and on innovations. The podium discussion on ‚The Future of Computer Science‘ with representatives from academia, industry and politics naturally also looked forward. Their thoughts on the developments of computer science and specifically on the challenges of E-ID in Switzerland, the rapid rise of AI tools and the challenges of educating cititzens in such an ever-developing environment will certainly come up in future discussions of our attendees.

Some of these discussions continued during the gala dinner, where we enjoyed the cuisine of Hotel Schweizerhof. SI was honored by the speech given by the vice-president of IFIP, Prof. Jacques Sakarovitch, and the commemorative trophy awaded by IFIP. The evening concluded with a speech by SI President Francis Baud on the protection and recognition of IT professionals. SI would like to thank all its members for making our work possible and we look forward to another four decades of excellence in Swiss IT.

You can find pictures from the event below.

Learn more about the SITC 2023 on "E-ID in Switzerland" below.