A global centre for artificial intelligence
While large tech companies dominate the development of artificial intelligence, Switzerland is striving for an alternative. ETH Zurich and EPF Lausanne, together with other Swiss universities, have launched the Swiss AI Initiative. The aim is to develop trustworthy and transparent AI models that are characterised by data protection, copyright protection and high safety standards.
A key component of this initiative is the new Alpine supercomputer, which was put into operation at the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre in Lugano in February 2024. With over 10,000 graphics processors, it is one of the most powerful computers in the world and offers Swiss scientists an infrastructure that was previously only available to the largest technology companies.
AI development with a focus on specialised industries
Instead of developing general AI models, Switzerland is focussing on industry-specific solutions, particularly in the fields of robotics, medicine, climate science and diagnostics. EPF Lausanne has already published a medical AI model that is specifically tailored to the healthcare sector.
Open and transparent AI models
The organisation deliberately focuses on transparency and open source. In contrast to the proprietary models of large corporations, Switzerland’s new large language models should be comprehensible to everyone. This applies to the data used as well as the training methods and results.
Research for digital sovereignty
ETH Vice President for Research, Christian Wolfrum, emphasises the importance of Switzerland’s digital independence: “Science must take on a pioneering role so that AI is not left to multinational corporations alone. This is the only way we can guarantee independent research and digital sovereignty.”
Large computing volume for ambitious goals
The plan is to utilise ten million GPU hours on the Alpine supercomputer within the next 12 months. This corresponds to an enormous computing power, as the same volume would have to work continuously for 1,100 years with one GPU. Switzerland is thus setting new standards in AI research.
AI for industry and administration
The initiative is intended to benefit not only science, but also Swiss companies, start-ups and public administrations. Swisscom CTO Gerd Niehage sees the initiative as an important building block for Switzerland’s digital future: “It accelerates the digital transformation and creates new skills that our country needs to play a leading role in the field of generative AI.”
International collaboration and networking
To drive their research forward, ETH Zurich and EPFL are working closely with the Swiss Data Science Centre and around a dozen other Swiss universities and research institutes. The initiative is also part of the European AI Excellence Network, which comprises around 40 leading AI research centres in Europe.
The initiative is thus sending out a clear signal. Switzerland is positioning itself as a leading global hub for the development of transparent and responsible AI technologies
AI technologies.