1500 1393 Top for AI AI start-ups start-ups Top 20 20 countries countries for 1200 900 383 362 245 131 113 109 106 82 55 45 42 39 35 28 27 26 26 22 19 600 0 United States China Israel UK Canada Japan France Germany India Sweden Finland South Korea Spain Singapore Switzerland Australia Brazil Netherlands Italy Russia 300 Source: Roland Berger and ASGARD, Artificial Intelligence – A strategy for European startups tremendous scope in combining science policy and Swiss diplomacy. Switzerland should also strengthen federal government, research and industry networks in the area of new technologies. Competence clusters create the critical mass in the competition between geographical locations. An AI cluster involving partners can help to establish the right priorities for a tech foreign policy and to develop the required know-how. The scientific community has proposed the idea of a foreign policy initiative to support basic research in artificial intelligence. The objective is to achieve transparent, fair and peaceful use of AI as a counterpoint to a technological arms race. There is a proposal to set up an AI organisation in Switzerland along the lines of CERN. Such an ambitious plan would need to be supported by a supraregional group of like-minded countries. Another promising approach is positioning Switzerland as a safe harbour for data. Data protection as well as secure information systems and data infrastructure are increasingly critical issues – for international organisations too. A digital safe deposit box could emerge as a new form of good offices and simultaneously strengthen Switzerland’s position as an IT and business location. Swiss neutrality, political stability, data protection regulations and acknowledged technological know-how provide an excellent foundation. 37 2028 Foreign Policy Vision 3.5.2. Tech diplomacy In the last 30 years, Switzerland has been globally acknowledged for its peace-building efforts. The geopolitically motivated technology race could present an opportunity for similar ambition in establishing a high-profile Swiss tech foreign policy. It can serve as an important link between peace policy, development cooperation, environmental and foreign policy, thereby strengthening the rules-based international order. New standards and regulatory models are a longterm goal. In the short and medium-term, asking the right questions and finding solutions that enjoy broad societal support are key. Existing international law should be applied as widely as possible. Until such time as there is agreement on generally applicable standards, self regulation through voluntary commitments on the use of AI algorithms appears to be a promising approach. The international organisations based in Geneva would be particularly interested in such benchmarks. Switzerland should focus on building a tech foreign policy profile in three policy and governance areas, and on contributing to the respective international debates: The first area pertains to security issues. Autonomous weapons and the militarisation of space using high-tech weapons call for a rethink of arms control and international humanitarian law in this new scenario. A further topic to be addressed is influence operations and the corresponding defence capabilities. Switzerland’s cyber foreign policy could be developed within the framework of its tech foreign policy.