The key point: From Thursday, the State of Valais is rolling out AVA, its own artificial intelligence platform, to all its staff.
A sovereign assistance tool
- AVA (Augmented Valais Assistant) is one of the first sovereign state AIs in Switzerland.
- Intended uses: drafting, summarising, research and translation.
- The tool takes no decisions and is meant to replace no jobs.
- No data passes through foreign providers.
Costs and oversight
- The entire technology chain is run in-house: no per-token billing.
- Official guidelines, guides, webinars and practical seminars for staff.
- The canton wants to extend the project to municipalities and other public bodies.
Key figures
- 2000 : users during the pilot phase launched in April
- CHF 2 : monthly cost per daily active user
- CHF 20 : minimum monthly saving compared with a commercial solution
In short
Valais is deploying an in-house AI to protect its administrative data. Its cost is lower than commercial offerings. The canton wants to build a Swiss ecosystem beyond its borders.
