November 19th, 2025, 09h30-17h30, Starling Hotel, 1025 Saint-Sulpice Introduction As we enter the agentic era, AI agents are increasingly integrated into various aspects of modern life, performing tasks that range from personal assistance and financial management to complex decision-making in industries. These AI agents, driven by powerful algorithms, are transforming how we interact with technology (…)
Wednesday, June 3rd, 5th or 10th, 2025, 09h-13h30 (tbc), BC 410, EPFL Introduction The transition towards digital solutions in Swiss democratic processes, such as e-collecting of signatures for initiatives and referenda, presents both opportunities and challenges. With increasing concerns about fraud, privacy, and data security, there is a pressing need to develop a trustworthy and (…)
L’aéroport de Genève attend le feu vert de Berne pour installer des caméras de reconnaissance faciale. La Suisse réfléchit aux bases légales tandis que la pratique s’est banalisée au Royaume-Uni. Faut-il ou non s’en inspirer ?
Avec la participation de Linus Gasser, C4DT.
Interested in this theme? Looking to participate or collaborate on an initiative? The increasing prevalence of AI-powered systems and autonomous agents requires a shift in how we approach software development. It is critical to explore technologies, policies, and collaborations that enhance trust in software applications, particularly in an era where AI agents play an active (…)
Interested in this theme? Looking to participate or collaborate on an initiative? In an increasingly digital society, trust in democratic processes, institutions, and identity systems is fundamental to maintaining social stability and governance. Digital democracy relies on resilient e-governance infrastructures such as secure and privacy-preserving digital identities, trusted online platforms for citizen participation and cybersecure (…)
I found this short paper by John Kelsey and Bruce Schneier an insightful take on common fallacies in security – and how, despite not actually increasing security per se, they can still have beneficial side-effects, such making users feel more secure. Nonetheless, the people responsible for the security of their systems should have a clear-eyed (…)
The latest edition of Trust Matters, IITB’s newsletter on all things digital trust, is out. Check it out here.
CV Summit Zurich is Europe’s premium blockchain, AI, and emerging tech business event which convenes leaders, facilitates high-level discourse and connection. It takes place in Switzerland, a leading blockchain landscape and home of ‘Crypto Valley’.
We all heard that big AI companies need petabytes of data for training their new models. And we all heard that they don’t really care where they get their data from. Besides potential copyright infringement, this crawling takes another toll on some Open Source projects: Continuously requesting data over and over is similar to a (…)
If the revelation that Trump administration officials accidentally added journalist Jeffrey Goldberg to a Signal group chat about sensitive military plans for airstrikes in Yemen wasn’t alarming enough, new reports now show that multiple Venmo accounts linked to former Trump officials were left publicly accessible, exposing sensitive connections and financial transactions. While the data leaked (…)
This is a curated list of proposed subjects for the upcoming year for our C4DT partners. You can find more suggestions here: Additional Subjects. The projects are split in two categories: hands-on workshops, which are a 1-day training on a given subject, and project suggestions, based on current research of our affiliated labs: Summary of (…)
This is an additional set of hands-on workshops and projects for the upcoming year for our C4DT partners. You can find the chosen selection here: Main Subjects. The projects are split in two categories: hands-on workshops, which are a 1-day training on a given subject, and project suggestions, based on current research of our affiliated (…)
AI for Good is identifying innovative AI applications, building skills and standards, and advancing partnerships to solve global challenges.
The summit is organized by ITU in partnership with over 40 UN Sister Agencies and co-convened with the Government of Switzerland.
AI plays a vital role in the digitalization of the public sector. The strategy for integrating AI systems within the Swiss Federal Administration highlights the need for a multipronged approach. While I agree that developing skills and building trust are essential initial steps and likely top priorities, the true challenge lies in addressing the lack (…)
Restarting USAID and putting all payments on a blockchain? Why not? Well, for one, as one expert in the sector is quoted as saying: ‘I don’t think we were ever able to find an instance where people were using blockchain where they couldn’t use existing tools’. The Trump administration says that the move to blockchain (…)
Supply chain attacks will continue to hit the news in an increasingly interconnected development ecosystem as organizations rely on third-party components and actions. This seems inevitable. What I find interesting about this case is the threat actors’ approach to compromise software while it is still under development, which sets itself apart from attacks such as (…)
This investigation highlights a crucial cybersecurity reality: while we often focus on sophisticated zero-day exploits, the greater threat comes from known vulnerabilities and misplaced trust. One million Android devices weren’t compromised through cutting-edge techniques but through traditional means – preinstalled backdoors and users installing unvetted apps outside official stores. The victims were vulnerable because they (…)
Interesting to see y-combinator, an incubator for early-stage startups, supporting an EU directive. They say that the European Digital Markets Act actually allows smaller companies to grow, by limiting what the behemoths of the market are allowed to do. Who would’ve thought that at least one of the regulations gets supported by the US Startup (…)
We often hear or talk about ‘IT for good’ and ‘responsible behaviour’ in the digital world, assuming a single universal common understanding of what’s good and what’s responsible. Things start to get confusing when we think about for whom a service or action is good or responsible: for all humanity, including the ‘bad guys’? for (…)
Le réseau Pravda, basé à Moscou, injecte des masses considérables de faux contenus dans les services d’IA d’OpenAI comme de Google. En parallèle, l’administration américaine somme les scientifiques de l’IA d’éliminer les «biais idéologiques» de leurs modèles.
Avec la participation de Jean-Pierre Hubaux, directeur académique du C4DT.
This symposium is jointly organized by Trust Valley and Groupe Mutuel. It is part of the Tech4Trust Roadshow event series, which supports startups in the field of cybersecurity and digital trust. Expect insightful panel discussions and engaging startup pitches. During this Roadshow, discover the issues and challenges related to Ethical & Explainable AI, economy of data, data privacy, data security. C4DT’s academic director Jean-Pierre Hubaux will speak at the event. More information will follow.
My colleague Melanie’s pick last week about Swiss supermarket chain Coop using AI-supported video surveillance in its stores for security purposes reminded me of the recent revelation that American supermarket chain Kroger may be engaging in surveillance pricing, i.e., using algorithms and data collected on customers (including through facial recognition technology) to determine the highest (…)
I find China’s attempt to treat data as a formal business asset quite interesting, especially given the massive amount of data the country generates. Companies seem reluctant to adopt this policy though, with only 283 out of 60 million companies participating. But it is still early days, and the months and years to come will (…)
Nobody would seriously argue that a chat bot can replace school counselors in helping pupils taking their first steps on their career paths. However, in the face of a shortage of counselors, aren’t chat bots better than no guidance at all? I like this article for its nuanced discussion of young people relying on specialized (…)
