Swiss IT Congress 2024 in Bern

There’s no question that Artificial Intelligence will revolutionise society, which is why this year’s Swiss IT Congress (SITC 2024) focused on both the promises and the challenges of this transformative technology.  The event, held earlier this month, 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 the event included: