Swiss Software Festival 2025: jls Highlights on AI, UX & Innovation

01.07.2025

Author: Fabien Jeckelmann

On June 24, 2025, the very first edition of the Swiss Software Festival took place in Basel. Featuring a diverse program around software development, artificial intelligence and digital user experiences. We from jls attended with a team of three, took part in inspiring talks and discussions, and returned with plenty of valuable insights.

After several keynote sessions in the main hall, the day continued with topic-specific tracks. In the morning, we joined the «Digital Experience» track, followed by the «Artificial Intelligence» track in the afternoon. Here’s a compact summary of our highlights:

One talk highlighted that AI-powered tools currently focus heavily on software development and code generation – for example, through automated coding assistants. However, areas like infrastructure, CI/CD pipelines or deployment are often overlooked.

👉 Takeaway: AI delivers the most value when applied holistically across the DevOps lifecycle – not just during coding.

A keynote session highlighted the shift in the developer role. Since the rise of generative AI, not only has the way we build software changed. The pace of change itself has accelerated. The most important skill for developers? Learn to Relearn. Those who develop software successfully today will be doing so with AI tomorrow. Or be replaced by those who can.

👉 Takeaway: It's not about whether you use AI, but how effectively you integrate it into your workflow.

Two talks explored the future of user interfaces, but came to opposing conclusions.

• One speaker argued that voice will be the interface of the future. Traditional graphical UIs could be replaced by voice interactions. However, large language models are often too generic for this. More compact models trained on specific domains are seen as a more realistic option for businesses.

• Another talk strongly disagreed with this view. Humans are highly visual thinkers. Colors, hierarchies and diagrams are essential for orientation and understanding. Even in an AI-driven world, good UX remains critical.

👉 Takeaway: Voice as an interface is a fascinating development, but visual guidance and strong UX  remain essential, especially for complex information.

A technical talk addressed the challenges that quantum computers pose to current encryption methods. Many commonly used algorithms are expected to become insecure in the near future.

👉 Takeaway: Companies should start preparing for quantum-safe cryptography today. New standards will need to be in place by 2035.

In a session on digital experience, a chatbot was presented that was specifically tailored to a company’s own data sources and brand guidelines, including tone of voice, visual style and corporate identity. External sources like weather services were also integrated to enable context-aware responses.

👉 Takeaway: Custom AI solutions offer clear advantages over generic systems, especially in customer communication, brand consistency and trust.

Curious about playful user engagement? Check out our blog on the future of gamification, with insights into AI, AR and omnichannel strategies.

Large language models currently set the standard, but they are resource-intensive, difficult to operate independently, and create dependency on hyperscalers. Companies aiming to use AI in a sovereign and independent way should consider small language models (SLMs). They are easier to host, more cost-efficient, and deliver surprisingly strong performance across many use cases.

👉 Takeaway: SLMs offer more control, lower costs and less dependency, a realistic path toward sovereign AI adoption.

The final session addressed the topic of AI data centers from a geopolitical perspective. While many AI applications currently run on American infrastructure, Europe still lacks comparable hubs. The goal must be to develop independent alternatives in order to act with greater economic and political autonomy, much like Airbus emerged as Europe’s response to Boeing in the aviation industry.

👉 Takeaway: Europe needs its own AI infrastructure to remain technologically independent. A goal that goes far beyond building individual tools.

The Swiss Software Festival 2025 made one thing clear: AI, UX, digital sovereignty and security are increasingly interconnected.

Our three key takeaways from the day:

1. AI needs to be thought of holistically, beyond code, into processes, infrastructure and communication.

2. UX remains essential especially in an AI-driven world.

3. Sovereignty and infrastructure are strategic success factors in the age of AI.

We're already looking forward to the next edition of the festival – and to applying these fresh insights in our daily work.