Experts from seven European countries gathered at the “AI Sandbox Summit” on the initiative of the Zurich Location Promotion to discuss their experiences with regulatory testing environments for Artificial Intelligence (AI). The findings from this first event will be incorporated into further project planning.
Artificial intelligence (AI) is on the rise and has enormous potential. However, there are still many unanswered questions - also with regard to regulation. The canton of Zurich has been promoting the practical application of AI for a long time. The "Innovation Sandbox" was introduced in spring 2022. It serves as a learning environment - almost like a laboratory - in which companies, organizations and administrations implement AI projects and develop expertise in the field of AI use. This has already resulted in several guidelines on legal aspects and recommendations for the technical implementation of AI applications.
Similar sandbox projects are also running in other countries, sometimes with different approaches. For this reason, the Canton of Zurich's Economic Development Agency, together with the European AI network CLAIRE, organized the "AI Sandbox Summit" for the first time and invited experts from six European countries: Germany, Belgium, Norway, the UK, France and Spain. The aim was to network, exchange ideas and learn from the experiences of others.
What topics do the projects focus on? What are the conditions of participation for the organizations? In what form are the results presented? First, the sandbox experts shared success factors and cross-national insights. In the second part of the event, the participants developed approaches on how to increase the added value for administration, research and business.
For Raphael von Thiessen from the Location Promotion Canton of Zurich and project leader of the "Innovation-Sandbox," the event at the FFHS Campus Zurich was a resounding success. He stated, "The participants greatly benefited from the exchange and experiences in other countries, identifying areas for improvement in their own projects." Additionally, the possibility of cross-border collaboration was discussed, such as creating a central project database with insights from all European sandbox case studies. The findings from the workshop will soon be published on the cantonal location promotion website and on the website of the European AI network CLAIRE. In the canton of Zurich, the impressions gathered are to be incorporated into the second phase of the "Innovation Sandbox".
Author: Office for Economy - Canton of Zurich