Posted by 
Artificial Intelligence (AI) expert and SwissCognitive co-founder Dalith Steiger-Gablinger clears up misconceptions and advocates for a human future economy. Switzerland, she says, should take a leading role in supporting tech start-ups.
Credit: This interview by Lea Fäh with Dalith Steiger-Gablinger has been published in German as “KI ermöglicht eine 30-Stunden-Woche”
The interview takes place in the Lago Lounge on Lake Zurich. On this summer day, Steiger sips an apple spritzer. She studied mathematics at the University of Zurich because she wanted to “speak a clear language that can’t be misunderstood.” She came to Switzerland at the age of two and grew up in Küsnacht before making “a big leap” to Forch. She calls herself a “total Zürichhocker” [editor’s note: Zurich-homebody].
Her career in the tech industry would be inconceivable without the backing of her family—partner, daughters, and parents—Steiger says. Her passion is building bridges between technology and society. Through sharing knowledge and concrete use cases, she aims to promote responsible, human-centred AI. “The technology also has to understand us, not just the other way around.”
A Human Future Economy
Steiger advocates for a “human future economy,” which she sees as “a path to a healthy work culture.” She explains: “People are the most important capital for every company, in two ways: as employees and as customers.” She hopes this insight will resonate more strongly in executive suites.
“AI enables us to work 30 hours a week,” Steiger is convinced. Personal AI agents will become established in the next few years and help us work more effectively. “But just because AI makes us more productive doesn’t mean we have to work more.” The time saved could be used for personal well-being: family, friends, and sports.
Whenever possible, she combines business trips with family time. “For me, family comes first, and I invest most of my time in them.” That she and partner, Andy Fitze, are also a couple is an advantage: the two are often invited to the same events.
She also regularly takes either her daughters or her parents to business events. Recently, after an appointment at HEC Paris Business School, she spent a few days in Paris with her mother. She took her father to a talk at Landesbank Baden-Württemberg in Stuttgart. And after an engagement with IT service provider T-Systems in Cologne, she visited both parents for the first time in her grandmother’s birthplace.
Clearing up misconceptions
Steiger addresses common misconceptions about AI and emphasises that technology is a tool whose impact lies in our hands. “In the end, it’s people who misuse technology. People are the problem, not the technology.” She illustrates this with examples such as a knife that can be used for spreading butter or for violence. “If humans were only good, we wouldn’t need police.”
She dislikes the term “artificial” in AI. Artificial, she explains, usually refers to a copy of something real, like artificial organs. “But AI is not a copy of the brain or human intelligence; it’s a tool that extends our capabilities and strengthens us where we are weak, similar to a calculator.” She therefore advocates the term Augmented Intelligence. Her analogy is apt: “We don’t call an airplane an artificial bird, do we?”
The widespread fear that AI will lead to job losses, she counters with: “It’s the person who uses AI to do your job better who takes it away from you.” In fact, AI will create more jobs than it destroys, she says, citing roles like “prompt engineer,” “data ethicist,” or “data & analytics specialist.” She calls for an open, experimental approach to deploying AI.
Start-ups need support
Switzerland should take a leading role in supporting tech start-ups. She urges companies to take risks together with start-ups and develop solutions. This cooperative approach is crucial for creating unicorns—start-ups valued at over USD 1 billion. There are far too few of these in Switzerland, she says, even though there are many “unicorn brains.”
She underscores the importance of a society in which people support each other—even when it’s not always a direct, two-way exchange. “If you do something well, talk about it. Let others benefit. Share for success. Success only comes together.” She speaks from experience: networking and mutual support are key to ensuring that successful projects emerge for all involved.
Interview: Lea Fäh
Der Beitrag AI Makes a 30-Hour Workweek Possible – Dalith Steiger-Gablinger Interview erschien zuerst auf SwissCognitive | AI Ventures, Advisory & Research.
