The surprise of Ignazio Cassis: "My speech written by AI"

The President of the Confederation kicked off the "Swiss Digital Days" by revealing its artificial nature halfway through the address

The 'Swiss Digital Journals' 2022 were inaugurated in Bern on 5 September. The President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, took part in the event and gave a speech

On 5 September last Ignazio Cassis, current President of the Swiss Confederation and Head of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, inaugurated the "Swiss Digital Days" in Bern.
At the Bundesplatz, theTicino politician kicked off the sixth edition of the national event which will continue in 19 different venues until 23 October and which will include a final happening in the city of Zug on the 27th of the coming month.
The highlight of the vernissage day was the presentation of a unique cryptoart project in the whole nation via NFT, created in collaboration with the Swiss Post and called swissp[AI]nt, whose very first words in the traveling terminal are been inserted by Ignazio Cassis himself.
Once they leave the "Bubbles" intended for the public they will move from Bern to Aarau, Basel, Bellinzona, Bienne, Einsiedeln, Geneva, Lausanne, Liestal, Lugano, Lucerne, Rotkreuz, Schaffhausen, Solothurn, St. Gallen, Thun, Winterthur and Zurich , plus Vaduz in the Principality of Liechtenstein, the rresponsible for the FDFA gave a talk on the digital transformation in Switzerland from the stage into the microphone in German.
During the delivery of the speech, he revealed how it had been partly written by the GPT-3 Artificial Intelligence software available to the Fachhochschule Nordwestschweiz.
Following is the transcript of the "literary" product of the work of the FHNW University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, whose campuses are distributed in the cantons of Aargau, Basel-City, Basel-Country and Solothurn and in whose singular experiment Professor Daniel Perruchoud collaborated.

The largest Swiss-Cross NFT project presented in Bern
Photogallery, the vernissage of the "Swiss Digital Days" 2022
Truly Swiss “Digital Days” 2022 from Aarau to Zurich
The study “Opportunity costs of the ICT skills shortage” (in German)

The 'Swiss Digital Days' 2022 was inaugurated in Bern on 5 September — The 'Swiss Digital Days' 2022 were inaugurated in Bern on 5 September: Ignazio Cassis, president of the Swiss Confederation, next to the NFT cryptoart generator of the swissp[AI]nt project

The text of the speech by the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, on 5 September 2022 in Bern

"Ladies and gentlemen,
I am very pleased to be here with you today on the occasion of the 'Swiss Digital Days'.
It's amazing how far we've come in such a short time. We have seen how digital technologies have made our lives easier, more convenient and more connected.
We've also seen how digital can be a force for good. We've seen how it can empower people and give them a voice. And we've seen how it can help us solve some of the world's most pressing problems.
But first I would like to tell you a story.
It is the story of a Swiss farmer who lives in a small mountain village. He's a simple man, but he's a good man.
One day a stranger arrives in his village. The stranger asks the farmer if he can use his land to build a tower.
The farmer doesn't quite know what the stranger is talking about, but he accepts.
The stranger starts building a tower on the farmer's land.
The tower is made of metal and is very tall. The stranger tells the farmer that the tower is a telephone. And that now the farmer can talk to anyone in the world using this device.
He tells the farmer that the telephone can't connect only people. It can also connect machines to each other.
But the stranger does not stop. He tells the farmer that the telephone can connect not only people and machines. It can connect ideas too. It can connect cultures. It can connect countries.
The farmer is amazed. He had never dreamed that such a thing was possible. Yet today we are here. We live in a world that is more connected than ever. We live in a world where the impossible has become possible.
This is the power of digitization. And that is exactly why digitization is so important to Switzerland.
Digital transformation is not just about technology. It's about people. Digitization is not just about machines. It's about connecting people and machines.
Digitization is not just a matter of numbers. It's about using data to make better decisions. Digital transformation is not just about the future. It's about the present. It's about making the most of the opportunities we have today.
It was a bit of a long story and also a bit of fun.
And, to be honest, I didn't write it. No, it wasn't even someone from my staff: it was an Artificial Intelligence.
Together with Professor Dr Daniel Perruchoud and his team from the University of Applied Sciences and Arts Northwestern Switzerland, we dared to conduct an experiment.
Can an Artificial Intelligence write a speech for the President of the Swiss Confederation?
For this experiment we used the GPT-3 program.
This software learned how language works and how words are used in a thematic context based on approximately 300 billion words taken from websites, books, studies, speeches, and so on.
The way it works was explained to me: it learned which word can follow the previous word to generate a meaningful text on a given topic. But above all, the result is surprising for how well it works!
I admit, however, that we did not get such a result on the first try.
Out of about two dozen texts, this one was probably the best, and even with this address it's unlikely we'll win a Pulitzer Prize.
But for average day-to-day political use, that would probably be enough for a Federal President as well.
Looking through the texts of the "committee", I immediately understood what was the main problem with the artificially generated texts.
While being grammatically impeccable, AI freely invented “facts”.
Some examples:
– The AI thought that Switzerland was one of the most advanced countries in terms of digitization of healthcare. Actually, we still have room for improvement….
– Or AI has begun to play politics, but like a dictator: so it suggested that today I announce an increase in digitization spending of 1,5 billion, without having first asked the Federal Council and Parliament for permission.
– AI also came up with a “national cyber policy” for Switzerland based on three pillars:
1. Switzerland must become the safest place to live and work in the digital age;
2. Switzerland must become the most attractive country for digital companies;
3. Switzerland should become the world leader in digital health.
Why isn't it like this?
Well, without delving into the matter, one might be led to believe these made-up facts. Is it a danger to our society? Certainly.
On the other hand, the problem is not new, but it is getting worse. Some argue that even Napoleon said that you shouldn't believe everything you read on the Internet…
Ladies and gentlemen, despite all the opportunities digitization offers, we must not be naive.
Digital transformation also brings with it great challenges and therefore fears.
It will be up to all of us to anticipate them and prepare society to face them.
Only when society understands what awaits us can we allay fears and reap the full benefits. But here we are still at the beginning.
What is our goal for digital transformation in Switzerland?
Our goal is to make digitization accessible to everyone.
Our aim is to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to benefit from digitalisation.
Our goal is to make digitization an engine for economic growth and social progress.
Our goal is to make digitization an engine for innovation and creativity.
Our goal is to make digitization a force for good.
Here is AI again.
Thank you all for your attention!”.

The 'Swiss Digital Days' 2022 were inaugurated in Bern on 5 September: the President of the Swiss Confederation, Ignazio Cassis, took part in the event and gave a speech

The surprise of Ignazio Cassis: "My speech written by AI"