(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Switzerland has invested millions to reduce its dependence on American tech giants. But for many, true sovereignty in artificial intelligence (AI) remains out of reach. This content was published on November 7, 2025 - 09:00 9 minutes

I analyse the risks, opportunities and concrete impacts of artificial intelligence on society and everyday life. Since joining SWI swissinfo in 2020, I translate the complexity of science and technology into stories that speak to a global audience. Born in Milan to an Italian-Egyptian family, I have been passionate about knowledge and writing since childhood. I worked between Milan and Paris as a multilingual editor for technology magazines before transitioning to international journalism with SWI swissinfo.

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Artificial intelligence powers global services ranging from translation tools to cloud computing. Yet most of this technology remains in the hands of a few foreign companies, mainly in the United States and China. This has raised fears that political or commercial interests could one day restrict access to essential digital tools.

“Governments have realised that they have to invest in sovereign technologies if they don't want to be hostage to a small circle of foreign interests,” says David Shrier, a professor of AI and innovation at Imperial College London and an expert on sovereignty in AI.

For its part, Switzerland has invested millions in IT infrastructure and large language models (LLMs). This has led to the construction of the supercomputer“Alps”, the eighth-most powerful in the worldExternal link, and the development of the LLM Apertus, launched in September.

Incidents such as Amazon's cloud services outage in OctoberExternal link, which knocked out several websites, have increased calls to limit dependence on foreign technologies. And recently, the chief of the Swiss Armed Forces, Thomas Süssli, criticised the use of Microsoft within the army over security concerns, in a letter to the government made public by the online newspaper RepublikExternal link.

There are signs the Swiss population is also concerned about handing too much data to Big Tech. The close result in a national vote on whether to introduce an electronic ID in Switzerland reflected widespread concerns over digital privacy.

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This content was published on Oct 1, 2025 Distrust in AI and fear of data abuse by private companies are among the main concerns of Swiss voters.

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