EspriTech de Genève
2025
Where technology meets humanity
EspriTech de Genève (‘the tech spirit of Geneva’) addresses the pressing need for responsible and human-centred artificial intelligence (AI). It starts with ideas, followed by governance and results in coding of AI applications and agents that impact our daily reality.
Ideas: EspriTech de Genève is rooted in the city’s centuries-old heritage and contributions of thinkers like John Calvin, Charles Bonnet, Jorge Luis Borges, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Ferdinand de Saussure, Mary Shelley, and Voltaire. EspriTech de Genève encapsulates twelve core values, ranging from human dignity and freedom to fairness and trust.
Governance: In the next step, ideas are turned into AI and digital governance solutions such as Shelley’s responsible innovation and Rousseau’s social contract for the AI era. Governance emerges through standards, conventions, and policies developed and implemented in Geneva. Privacy protection, e-commerce, and technical standards are among the many governance issues addressed by more than 40 actors, such as the International Telecommunication Union and the World Intellectual Property Organization.
Coding: Ultimately, EspriTech de Genève brings history and governance to the coding practice and to the screens of programmers who develop AI agents and platforms. As AI automates programming through GitHub and other platforms, automatically generated software can have in-built human-centred ideas and governance solutions. Centuries-old ideas can shape the code behind the latest AI apps and, ultimately, how the reality of millions of users is impacted.
Inspired by EspriTech de Genève philosophy and governance approaches, we can move from thought to action and from paper to practice.
It is not a utopian idea but a set of tools and approaches that are tested in practice by millions.
Applying EspriTech de Genève to AI transformation is technically feasible, financially affordable, and ethically desirable.
Why EspriTech de Genève?
EspriTech de Genève, the tech spirit of Geneva, is a concept inspired by L’esprit de Genève— the traditional spirit associated with the city’s role in peace, tolerance, international cooperation, human rights, and inclusion.
Coined by Robert de Traz in his book of the same title, L’esprit de Genève traces its roots to figures like Jean Calvin, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and Henri Dunant.
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