On 3 November 2020, Ethos is organising a conference on corporate digital responsibility. This event, part of the Digital Days 2020 program, will bring together a panel of experts who will discuss the issues and challenges that concern both companies and responsible investors.
The digitalisation of the economy is one of the major social challenges of the turn of the century, along with climate change and growing inequalities. While it offers considerable development potential for companies, it also gives rise to new legal, social and environmental challenges.
The Cambridge Analytica scandal that erupted after the 2016 US presidential elections revealed how personal data can be exploited for commercial and political ends. The development of new business models undermines historical social systems while cybersecurity, on its side, has become a major issue for companies whose valuation and reputation can at any time be seriously affected by a cyberattack.
For Ethos, digital responsibility has become an integral part of good governance and of the ESG criteria investors must take into account when making investment decisions. The Ethos Foundation has therefore decided to organise a conference and debate on this topic which is part of the digital days 2020 program led by DigitalSwitzerland. The objective is to present and discuss the issues related to the digitalisation of the economy, starting with the ethical challenges of data processing and artificial intelligence as well as the social dimension of the digital transition.
Mathematician and data protection expert, Paul-Olivier Dehaye will open the conference with a review of the major lessons learnt from the Cambridge Analytica scandal, of which he was one of the protagonists. Tax law professor and lawyer Xavier Oberson will then explain why robots should be taxed, while Nicolas Passadelis, Head of Data Governance at Swisscom, will outline the strategy of the communications giant in this area.
A round table moderated by journalist Patrizia Laeri as well as a debate with the audience will conclude the event. It will bring together specialists in the topic, including Ms. Cornelia Diethelm (CEO of Shifting Society and member of the Ethos Foundation Board), Professor Jean-Henry Morin (UNIGE), Ms. Eva Thelisson (AI Transparency Institute) and Mr. Passadelis.
- Due to the sanitary measures related to the Covid-19 pandemic, the number of seats will be limited and reserved for the first registrants. The event will also be broadcasted live on www.ethosfund.ch
About the Swiss Digital Days
The Swiss Digital Days 2020 will bring the Swiss population closer to digitalisation. For the fourth year in a row, people can find information, take part in discussions on current topics, and learn tangible digital skills for use in daily life. This year there will be a special focus on the question of how digitalisation can contribute to making Switzerland more economically, socially, and ecologically sustainable. During the first week of November 2020 more than 150 free events will be on the program, both online at digitaldays.swiss and live at the various locations. Over 20 towns are taking part: Aarau, Basel, Bern, Biel, Brig, Grenchen, Lachen, Lausanne, Lugano, Martigny, Neuchatel, Olten, Schwyz, Sierre, Sion, Solothurn, St. Gallen, St. Moritz, Vaduz, Winterthur, Yverdon, Zermatt and Zurich. The Swiss Digital Days are supported by around 60 partners from business, science and the public sector. The main partners are APG|SGA, Google, Ringier, SBB, Scholtysik & Partner and Swisscom.