Submitted text
The Federal Council is instructed to convene an ethics committee in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).
Justification
AI systems are being used in more and more areas – both in public and private life. Within seconds, publicly accessible tools such as ChatGPT create texts, images or pieces of music. AI applications are used for learning, facilitate work processes and create art. In addition to the great potential ethical questions connected: What does AI mean for political opinion-forming & participation when propaganda can be texted in unlimited quantities with almost no effort? What effect do platform algorithms have on the reliability of information that people consume? What impact do AI applications have on the world of work, art & culture and education? How can discrimination be prevented when AI is used in recruitment processes, for example? How can we defend ourselves against decisions made by AI systems? What processes are needed to ensure responsibility and accountability? To what extent should AI applications be used for surveillance? And what restrictions on fundamental and personal rights are we prepared to accept? Which people & organizations create, determine and control AI systems?
Framework conditions are needed to ensure that AI actually benefits individuals & society. In Germany, the Ethics Council made important recommendations in 2023. It emphasized that for the ethical evaluation of AI, not only the technology must be understood, but also the interactions between humans and technology as well as social effects. Some universities already have their own institutes for the ethics of AI, e.g. the Technical University of Munich and the University of Oxford.
We have the National Ethics Committee for Human Medicine (NEK) and the Ethics Committee for Biotechnology in the Non-Human Field. It is time to create a third ethics committee for challenges in connection with AI, its development and use. Analogous to the NEK, this should be a be an independent body that analyzes ethical issues and with a view to Switzerland’s democratic traditions, civil liberties and fundamental social rights. The Commission advises policymakers, but does not anticipate legislative decisions.
Statement of the Federal Council of 21.5.25
The Federal Council is aware that the development of artificial intelligence (AI) brings with it new challenges, particularly at a legal, social and ethical level. The Federal Administration already addressed ethical issues in its initial work in the field of AI, namely in the 2019 report on the challenges of AI and in the 2020 “Artificial intelligence” guidelines for the Confederation (available at https://www.sbfi.admin.ch > ERI policy > Federal government’s education, research and innovation policy 2025 – 2028 > Transversal themes in the ERI sector > Digitalization in the ERI sector > Artificial intelligence). Ethical challenges are also a central element of considerations on the governance of AI at international level. On November 23, 2021, all member states of UNESCO, including Switzerland, adopted a recommendation on the ethics of AI. In addition, numerous existing international instruments on AI, including those dealing with ethical issues, were taken into account during the negotiations on the drafting of the Council of Europe Convention on Artificial Intelligence and Human Rights, Democracy and the Rule of Law (see explanatory report on the AI Convention, point 7, available at https://www.coe.int > Droits humains > Intelligence artificielle et droits humains > Convention-cadre).
On February 12, 2025, the Federal Council made a fundamental decision on the regulation of AI in Switzerland. It would like to Ratify the Council of Europe’s AI Convention and has instructed the FDJP to do so, a consultation draft by the end of 2026 on their implementation in Swiss law (see press release at https://news.admin.ch > Press Releases of the Federal Council > February 12, 2025 – AI regulation: Federal Council wants to ratify Council of Europe convention). The preliminary draft law will deal in particular with the challenges relating to transparency, data protection, non-discrimination and supervision. The convention gives the contracting states leeway in the choice of measures to be taken. The possible creation of an ethics committee in the field of AI can be examined as part of this work, which is only just beginning. It is not yet possible to say what specific measures will be taken.