Tag Archives: Sci & Tech

Students and expanding companies are demanding more blockchain courses at Swiss universities. © Keystone / Christian Beutler The rapidly expanding Swiss blockchain industry is facing growing pains: a limited supply of qualified workers to fill the expanding number of job vacancies. Universities are stepping up to meet the challenge by designing new courses around blockchain and decentralised finance. Blockchain is the digital system that powers bitcoin and other...

NFTs have hit the headlines with spectacular sakes of digital artworks, such as the wildly popular CryptoPunks. Keystone / Obs/4artechnologies The latest blockchain phenomenon, the non-fungible token (NFT), has generated vast profits for artists and a raft of fraudulent scams. Several Swiss NFT projects have set out to prove that the technology can have a lasting impact beyond the spectacular headlines. This content was published on March 5, 2022 - 09:00 March 5,...

Part of the astronomical clock at the Cathédrale Saint-Jean de Besançon Philip Bird / Alamy Stock Photo Just a short hop from the Swiss border, the walled city of Besançon is a showcase of centuries of French watchmaking knowhow. Within its labyrinth of pristine streets are many secret courtyards, where, behind imposing doors, independent watchmakers carry forward its best-known traditions in what is considered France’s capital of watches. The city’s biggest...

As energy prices rocket, the meter is ticking on Switzerland’s future electricity security. © Keystone / Christian Beutler Households and businesses across Europe are facing a huge rise in electricity and heating costs this winter. Price hikes in Switzerland have so far been comparatively cushioned, but there are warnings of a potential energy crunch in the next few years. My specialty is telling stories, and decoding what happens in Switzerland and the world...

A sculpture made from electronic components by the artist Muharrem Batman for the 2018 “Artificial Intelligence and Robotics” exhibition at the Heinz Nixdorf MuseumsForum, a computer museum in Paderborn, Germany. Keystone / Guido Kirchner Artificial intelligence (AI) is gaining ground in our societies, posing a threat to jobs and increasingly invading our private lives. A new centre for AI research at the federal technology institute ETH Zurich wants to put people at...