SCAI – Swiss Center for Augmented Intelligence

A national competence center for the development and implementation of augmented intelligence is to be established under the name SCAI – Swiss Center for Augmented Intelligence. This center is an initiative of the Swiss Capital Region. Three strategic development priorities are envisaged: an interdisciplinary scientific center of excellence, an independent national reference institution for augmented intelligence and an “Innovation & Partnership” pole for the joint development of projects with companies and the public sector.

What is augmented intelligence?

Research and development in the field of artificial intelligence has so far focused mainly on technical aspects. It aims to mimic human (work) performance. Augmented intelligence, on the other hand, takes a human-centric approach. It aims to support more efficient task performance by linking human and artificial intelligence. This is intended to protect and promote factors such as well-being, privacy and free will. The approach is based on the conviction that digital transformation must not only be at the service of people, but rather that the “human factor” is elementary for shaping the digital future.

Conference

Human-centered artificial intelligence
Challenges and opportunities for the economy and society

The conference took place on Thursday 17 Novembre 2022 in Bern.

Read more about the content and the contributions made at the conference in this article.

SCAI – Swiss Center for Augmented Intelligence

Welcoming address by Fabian Amschwand, SCAI committee member, Denis Lalanne, University of Fribourg, Lorenz Jaggi, General Secretary, Swiss capital region

Address by Erich Fehr, Mayor of Bienne and member of the board of the Swiss capital region

Input from Christian Levrat, Chairman of the Board of the Swiss Post

Wissenschaftlicher Beitrag, Prof. Denis Lalanne, Direktor Human-IST, Universität Freiburg

Scientific presentation, Prof. Mascha Kurpicz-Briki, School of Engineering and Computer Science FB Informatik, Bern University of Applied Sciences

Farida Khali, hosting the panel discussion

Alexandra Tanner, responsable Kulturwandel, Kommunikation, Digital Stadt Bern & François Kuonen, CEO Intermobility SA during the panel

About SCAI

SCAI is a national competence center for the development and implementation of augmented intelligence. SCAI has three development priorities and bundles the competencies that the research institutions of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Solothurn, and Valais have already built up in this area. The center aims to exploit the synergies and multiplier effects resulting from the bundling. In this way, services and projects will be expanded and further developed for the benefit of the economy and the public sector in the region. SCAI thus acts as an innovation engine for the economic area of the five cantons mentioned.

Vision

By 2027, a national center of excellence for the development and implementation of augmented intelligence is to be established in the Bern – Fribourg – Neuchâtel – Solothurn – Valais region under the name SCAI. SCAI aims to support political bodies, authorities, companies, and non-governmental organizations in proactively shaping the digital transformation and positioning themselves accordingly at national and international level. To this end, it provides expertise in the development, implementation, and application of human-centered artificial intelligence (augmented intelligence).

Strategic objectives 2022-2026

The realization of the vision takes place through three strategic development focal points (poles) of SCAI.

Scientific Excellence

SCAI profiles itself as an interdisciplinary scientific center of excellence. With its human-centered approach, it distinguishes itself from other research centers in the field of artificial intelligence. The long-term orientation point is the acquisition of an NCCR (National Centre of Competence in Research) from the Swiss National Science Foundation (SNSF).

National Reference Pole

SCAI profiles itself as an independent national reference institution for augmented intelligence. As such, it offers expertise in the field of augmented intelligence to policy makers, economic actors, public authorities, and NGOs.

Innovation & Partnership

SCAI creates a pole “Innovation & Partnership”, which acts as a contact point for authorities and companies for questions and the initiation of projects around augmented intelligence.

Involved Institutions

The research institutions of the cantons of Bern, Fribourg, Neuchâtel, Solothurn and Valais have built up broad networks in the private and public sectors over the years in the context of the development of augmented intelligence. They are already carrying out numerous development and innovation projects in collaboration with companies and administrative bodies, and are providing a wide range of services for the benefit of decision-makers in politics and business. SCAI brings together the existing competencies. The following research institutions are involved:

Strategy group

The nine research institutions involved in SCAI are united in a strategy group. The following persons are part of the strategy group:

Paddington BärPaddington Station

Set-up and financing

Set-up in phases

SCAI is being built in three phases:

2019-21
Start-up phase
The start-up phase (2019-21) involves developing the conceptual design of SCAI.
2022-26
Build-up phase
The build-up phase (2022-26) includes the implementation of the basic concept of SCAI. In this context, services are to be provided in all three poles from 2022 onwards.

2022-26
2027
Consolidation and development phase
The consolidation and development phase (from 2027) is concerned with the further development of the structures and services established in the build-up phase.

Financing

The Swiss Capital Region and the participating research institutions jointly financed the conception of SCAI. The initiators of SCAI are already conducting research in the field of augmented intelligence and maintain diverse collaborations with private and public partners. They conduct research in numerous third-party funded research projects (SNSF, Innosuisse, etc.) and provide a variety of services for the benefit of industry and the public sector. SCAI wants to expand these activities. Accordingly, already in the start-up phase, SCAI finances itself mainly by acquiring third-party funds from research and innovation funding as well as from cooperation with partners from the private and public sectors. However, the development of SCAI and its three poles requires comprehensive scientific coordination as well as the establishment of an administrative office. These tasks cannot be financed from the current budgets of the universities, therefore start-up financing by the participating five partner cantons is foreseen.

SCAI – Swiss Center for Augmented Intelligence
c/o Hauptstadtregion Schweiz
Schauplatzgasse 39
3011 Bern

info@hauptstadtregion.ch / 031 381 54 45

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SCAI – Swiss Center for Augmented Intelligence

Human-centered artificial intelligence Challenges and opportunities for the economy and society

About SCAI

Involved Institutions

Set-up and financing

2019-21

2022-26

2022-26

2027

Human-centered artificial intelligence
Challenges and opportunities for the economy and society