Federal Council focuses on "Smart Cities" and Artificial Intelligence
Networked cities and agglomerations, new working methods and artificial intelligence: The Federal Council is setting new priorities in its "Digital Switzerland" strategy. Dialog with other players is also to be improved.
On the subject of artificial intelligence, the Federal Council has set up an internal federal administration working group, as it announced on Thursday. It is headed by the State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERI) and is intended to facilitate the exchange of knowledge and opinions. By fall 2019, the working group is to provide the Federal Council with an overview of existing measures and an assessment of new fields of action. It will also consider responsible use of the technology.
Exploiting the opportunities of digitization
The Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC) is developing a concept and a plan of measures by mid-2019 to support cities, municipalities and cantons in the development of so-called "smart cities", networked cities and regions. The Federal Council also wants to promote new types of interdisciplinary working methods and forms of cooperation within the federal administration and have them tested "detached from existing structures and day-to-day business," according to the statement. The dialog with the cantons on overarching digitalization issues is to be strengthened by the end of 2018.
With its "Digital Switzerland" strategy, which it launched in 2016, the Federal Council wants to ensure that Switzerland makes the most of the opportunities offered by digitization. At its meeting on Wednesday, it partially realigned the goals and guidelines to be aimed for over the next two years.
The specific implementation of the strategy in the federal administration is set out in an action plan, which is updated annually. It covers, for example, digitization in transport and energy, education and research, the economy, e-government and cyber risks.
