Lugano AI Week returns: five days of free events on artificial intelligence

From 1 to 5 December 2025, the Asilo Ciani will host the second edition of Lugano AI Week, the free event promoted by Lugano Living Lab – the urban innovation laboratory of the City of Lugano – to explore up close the challenges and opportunities of an increasingly technological world. More than 50 speakers, including experts, visionaries, entrepreneurs, and researchers, will take turns on stage for an open discussion on artificial intelligence and its impact on creativity, health, society, and the world of work. New in this edition: on Friday 5 December, companies, universities, and research centers will open their doors to the public to offer an inside look at the Lugano AI ecosystem. Registrations are already open.

At a time when artificial intelligence is rapidly transforming our lives, Lugano invites citizens and businesses to look at the present with awareness and to reflect together on the future ahead. Lugano AI Week, the event promoted by the City and organized by Lugano Living Lab, is not aimed solely at specialists, but also at companies, young people, professionals, families, and curious individuals of all ages. An opportunity to approach AI in an accessible, practical, and inspiring way, exploring the opportunities, risks, and ethical dilemmas of this technological revolution.

“We want Lugano to be a pioneering city in the conscious use of emerging technologies, capable of combining experimentation, education, and inclusion,” emphasizes Mayor Michele Foletti. “Lugano AI Week perfectly embodies our vision: a place where citizens can understand, learn, and participate in the technological future, rather than passively undergo it.”

This year too, admission is completely free, with mandatory registration for workshops and activities. Each day will address a specific theme: from creativity to health, from society to business, concluding with a journey into the discovery of business and academic institutions active in the region.
 

Program

Monday 1 December – Creating with AI
Let’s explore new human–machine creative processes. On the program: workshops to learn how content can be generated with AI tools (texts, videos, images), panels on copyright and intellectual property in the digital era, and talks by artists, directors, researchers, and creators. In the evening, the inauguration of a mini-exhibition of works by local artists generated through human–machine collaboration, open until Wednesday.

Tuesday 2 December – Algorithms, well-being, and knowledge
A day dedicated to the relationship between technology, mental and physical health, active aging, and new forms of learning. Experts in neuroscience, psychology, and medicine will explain how AI is contributing to the care of people and, almost paradoxically, to the understanding of the human being.

Wednesday 3 December – Robots, power, and geopolitics
The morning will be dedicated to robotics, with live robot demonstrations in collaboration with the Dalle Molle Institute for Artificial Intelligence Studies USI-SUPSI. In the afternoon, the topic of algorithmic power and its economic and geopolitical implications will be addressed. There will also be space for Switzerland’s role in the global challenge between the USA and China.

Thursday 4 December – AI in business
A day aimed at companies and professionals: managers, entrepreneurs, and innovators who are transforming their companies and business models thanks to AI will take the stage. In parallel, a session dedicated to startups in the morning and one on artificial intelligence in the banking and financial sector in the afternoon.

Friday 5 December – Open doors: inside Lugano’s AI
A widespread itinerary across the territory to discover the organizations that work daily with artificial intelligence. Among the stops: the Swiss National Supercomputing Centre (CSCS), IDSIA, the USI Ideatorio in Cadro (with a 20% discount for access to the Robot exhibition), the PoW Space, and the Generative Center in Besso, which will close the week with an artistic performance on the relationship between identity, digital memory, and social media.

Lugano at the center of the innovation debate
After recently hosting internationally significant events such as the Lugano Plan B Forum and the Global Forum, the City of Lugano strengthens its role as a reference point for dialogue on innovation and emerging technologies. In line with the new digital strategy presented during the year, the goal is to promote a widespread, critical, and accessible digital culture as the foundation for inclusive and sustainable technological development capable of involving the entire community. 

“It’s not about saying yes or no to AI, but about understanding it better to choose and act with greater awareness. Lugano AI Week aims to offer useful and applicable insights for everyday life – at school, in business, in families – stimulating curiosity, dialogue, and new perspectives,” says Jan Trautmann, Head of Innovation and Communication of the City of Lugano.

The City of Lugano has involved numerous academic partners such as USI, SUPSI, IDSIA, Ideatorio, and CSCS. The event is also made possible thanks to the active participation of sponsor companies such as Accenture, Acer, Artificialy, Berlitz, Ernst & Young (EY), HCLTech Confinale Wealth Solutions, IBM, Karakun, Sketchin, Swisscom, Tether, Var Group. Corriere del Ticino, the official media partner, will follow the week with insights and dedicated content.

Registration
The full program is available on the Lugano Living Lab website. Admission is free, but places for workshops and activities are limited.

The City invites the entire population, businesses, schools, and curious individuals to participate in the second edition of Lugano AI Week, from 1 to 5 December 2025.

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