Projects

Advancements in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and big data analytics highlight the potential of secondary health data use to enhance healthcare by uncovering insights for precision medicine and public health. This issue paper will provide clarity on the different types of health data, how they are shared and used, and propose approaches for enabling secondary health data use that align with Switzerland’s decentralized political structure, Swiss and EU regulatory frameworks, and technological developments in health data sharing.

This white paper will analyze the extent to which concerns surrounding different classes of public sector use of AI—process automation, AI-driven decision-making, and citizen service delivery with AI tools—differ, consider the existing national and supranational regulatory frameworks, and develop recommendations for strategic areas necessary to guide the usage of AI decision-making tools in the public sector. To achieve this the project will include document analysis, stakeholder interviews, and comparative research from other countries’ use cases and regulations.

This project addresses the growing need for a strategic policy approach to data and data spaces in Switzerland, especially as the EU is rapidly advancing in this field. Since 2023, the Federal Chancellery, particularly the DTI (Digital Transformation and ICT Steering), has been consolidating efforts towards the "Swiss Data Ecosystem." The C4DT at EPFL supports these efforts, aiming to develop a foundational document for Swiss data policy, focusing on the state's role in the data ecosystem. This document will be crafted in collaboration with key policy actors in Switzerland and will include practical recommendations for the Federal Council and Parliament.

This project underscores the need for a paradigm shift in data privacy policies, acknowledging the inherent trade-off between data utility and privacy that current Privacy Enhancing Technologies (PETs) cannot fully mitigate. It highlights the limitations of PETs and the systemic responsibility issues within the data supply chain, where technology producers often evade accountability. Consequently, a shift towards a data-use case-centric evaluation framework is recommended, one that prioritizes utility while minimizing leakage through nuanced risk assessments. Finally, the porject calls for greater transparency and a redefined accountability structure in the data sharing ecosystem.

The advent of digitalization has profoundly transformed societal and economic structures by reshaping traditional value chains into digital platform-driven networks, impacting various sectors, including public services in Switzerland. This project aims to examine the influence of digital platforms on Swiss public services and proposes recommendations for a digital policy.

This project aims to develop economically based terminology and conceptualizations as well as a sound understanding of digital markets and their regulation in order to propose key values for a Swiss digital policy with a focus on data policy. The resulting framework for analyzing the origins and effects of challenges in digital policy from an economic perspective will then be applied to current political and regulatory initiatives in Switzerland and the EU. Recommendations are derived from this.