Foreword by Benoît Dubuis

Technologies and society

Dear readers,

you have before you the SATW Panorama 2023 / 24. It reflects a year full of events, encounters and publications that get to the bottom of the questions of where technologies can take us. They challenge, fascinate and have become omnipresent in our lives.

At the 2023 Annual Congress at Google from left to right: Christoph Aeschlimann (Swisscom), Reto Brennwald (moderator), Anton Aschwanden (Google), Judith Bellaiche (National Councillor, SWICO), Alexander Ilic (ETH AI Center), Gerhard Andrey (National Councillor, partner of Liip), Esther Koller and Benoît Dubuis (SATW).

Imagine a typical day. Technologies are with you from the moment you get up until you go to bed and even at night. They are at the heart of your work and possibly also your leisure time. They make a significant contribution to improving your quality of life and are constantly revolutionising areas such as energy, communication, mobility and nutrition. They monitor your health and offer solutions if you have any complaints. However, this is only the tip of the technological iceberg: most of it remains invisible.

After the launch of ChatGPT over a year ago, the tool recorded almost 100 million users within the first two months and was both praised and criticised. Since then, we have been discovering new generative AI applications every week. This technological flood is forcing us to rethink our relationship with our environment and with life.

As the Swiss Academy of Engineering Sciences, our role is to guide the process of change, highlight the resulting opportunities, and engage in critical discussions about the potential effects on our society.

This requires a constant dialogue between those involved in technological developments and those in politics and business, as well as citizens. It requires special attention in order to put technology at the service of a better life for all.

Ultimately, this is also the reason why the SATW has adopted a new slogan this year: Technology for Society.

We hope you enjoy reading this annual report and wish you all the best!

Benoît Dubuis
President SATW