More than 300 executives from Swiss companies were involved at the fully booked AiCon AI Strategy Forum, the leading Swiss conference for Artificial Intelligence (AI), on June 22. The cantons of Schwyz and Zurich and the network community C-Level issued the invitations for delegates to attend the event in Pfäffikon in the canton of Schwyz. The two cantons first launched the AI initiative AiCon two years ago with the aim of enhancing the importance of the region as an AI hub. This demonstrated a degree of foresight, as Gabriel Ruggli, CEO of C-Level, underlined in his welcoming remarks. Alongside companies, the investment promotion agency Greater Zurich Area is also a partner of the conference.
“The year 2023 is the breakthrough for AI” - with this statement, Selcuk Boydak set the tone for the event right from the get-go. As an investor, he has helped to co-found the AI Business School and C-Level, among other organizations. According to Boydak, the launch of ChatGPT at the end of 2022 initiated a paradigm shift. Generative AI makes it possible to create new things and can be used by anyone with an interest in this technology. In fact, AI is becoming a mass movement. Boydak also presented the results of the Top Executive Study. For this, C-Level recently surveyed 285 executives from more than 210 companies in Switzerland (including the likes of Sprüngli, Sunrise and ABB) on the subject of AI. In total, 85 percent stated that AI was the most important digitalization topic for them, with 70 percent subscribing to the view that AI harbors high or even very high potential. “The scope is recognized. An attack mode is now needed in order to allow companies and the region to benefit from AI”, comments Boydak.
In a panel discussion, study participants touched upon the opportunities and risks associated with AI. Among others, Felix Graf, CEO of the NZZ Group, explained his company’s activities in the field of AI, which involve the extensive use of control mechanisms. He discussed how blockchain technology is ultimately very useful in this context. Marion Leslie, Head of Financial Information at the SIX Group, stated that AI will fundamentally change the nature of work in the financial sector, before adding that a proper data strategy is vital for organizations today: “Because AI is only as good as the data that feeds it”.
On the main stage, the Innovation Sandbox for Artificial Intelligence from the Canton of Zurich was presented by the project manager Raphael von Thiessen, among other developments. In a first round, five innovative projects will be supported in connection with regulatory issues and data will also be made available to them. In addition, the board of directors of the Swiss Chaos Computer Club, Hernani Marques, highlighted the manipulation power of AI. Yannic Kilcher, researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich (ETH) and founder of the start-up DeepJudge, presented an introduction to AI and headed up one of the 13 breakout sessions, in which participants had the opportunity to work on specific implementation issues together with experts.
A highlight of the event was C-Level CEO Gabriel Ruggli presenting the Corporate AI Awards 2023 to projects that promote the active use of AI within businesses. The award winners were Swiss Post and Dätwyler IT Infra AG. Alex Glanzmann, Head of Finance at Swiss Post, and Norbert Ludwig, Vice President of Dätwyler IT Infra, were on hand to accept the awards. ce/yvh
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