Wearing a small Swiss flag pin on his lapel, H.E. Albert Rösti, Federal Councillor and Head of the Federal Department of the Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications (DETEC), welcomed international delegates to Geneva for the opening of the AI for Good Global Summit 2026.
“Switzerland is proud to co-host this summit alongside the International Telecommunication Union and many United Nations partners”, Rösti said.
Addressing presidents, United Nations officials, researchers, innovators and other delegates, Rösti described Geneva as a longstanding meeting point for the international community to address global challenges through dialogue, cooperation and innovation.
At a time when AI is transforming societies and economies, he presented Geneva as a fitting setting in which to explore how the technology can improve lives around the world.
Since its launch, AI for Good has aimed not only to discuss the future of AI, but also to demonstrate its practical potential. Rösti highlighted this focus on concrete solutions, pointing to technologies already contributing to healthcare, disaster response, education and food security.
“What makes this Summit unique is its focus on practical solutions” Rösti said.
He also drew attention to Geneva’s distinctive concentration of international organisations, scientific expertise, humanitarian actors and diplomatic institutions. This ecosystem, he explained, enables ideas to move more rapidly from research to real-world implementation and from local innovation to global impact.
Switzerland’s contribution to the Summit was also reflected in its national pavilion, which showcased the country’s innovation ecosystem and provided a space for Swiss organisations and initiatives to connect with the international AI for Good community.
For Rösti, collaboration is central to technological progress. Innovation does not happen in isolation, he argued, but flourishes when researchers meet policymakers, startups engage with international organisations, businesses collaborate with academia and diverse perspectives come together to address shared challenges.
Drawing on Switzerland’s tradition of research, innovation and international cooperation, he added that technological progress delivers its greatest benefits when it is “open, collaborative and focused on the public good.”
At the same time, Rösti stressed that innovation brings responsibility. As AI becomes more powerful and more widely deployed, he called for continued cooperation to help ensure that its development remains trustworthy.
“Innovation and technological progress are not competing objectives. They reinforce one another,” Rösti said.
The opening ceremony also featured a major announcement: Switzerland will host the next World Summit on AI in Geneva in June 2027.
Announced from the AI for Good stage, the upcoming event will continue Geneva’s role as a centre for international dialogue and cooperation on AI. It will bring together policymakers, researchers, innovators, industry representatives and other stakeholders to exchange ideas and explore practical applications of the technology.
Rösti concluded by returning to the human purpose behind technological development. AI, he said, is ultimately about improving lives, expanding opportunities and finding new solutions to shared challenges.
His opening remarks framed innovation not as an isolated technical pursuit, but as a shared responsibility, one that depends on openness, collaboration and a continued focus on the public good.
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