23.05.2025UZH at the 2025 Swiss-Korean Innovation Week: Exploring Human Augmentation

Between 19 and 23 May 2025, the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week offered a wide range of events, workshops and dialogue platforms across Seoul. Korea’s capital is consistently ranked among the world’s top innovation hubs and is renowned for its high-tech ecosystem. As both Korea and Switzerland are known to be global leaders in innovation, the Swiss Embassy selected the timely topic of “Human Augmentation”, which lies at the intersection of biotechnology, artificial intelligence, and robotics, for this year’s edition. While earlier innovations such as eyeglasses and prosthetics have long extended human capabilities, the field today encompasses advanced neuroprosthetics, AI-driven enhancements, and wearable devices.

UZH contributions to the dialogue

UZH’s Birgit Kleim, Professor of Experimental Psychopathology and Psychotherapy at the Department of Psychology, and Nikola Biller-Andorno, Professor of Biomedical Ethics and Vice Dean of Innovation and Digitalization at the Faculty of Medicine, actively contributed to the program through presentations and panel discussions alongside experts from Korea and Switzerland.

At one of the week’s major events, the Swiss-Korean Life Science Symposium, Birgit Kleim shared her research on promoting resilience by addressing stress and trauma, drawing on findings from memory science and digital mental health solutions. Kleim, whose work focuses on understanding psychopathology and improving the effectiveness of psychotherapy, particularly for trauma-related disorders, highlighted the importance of addressing maladaptive memory processing, belief updating under uncertainty, and dynamic stress regulation. She also showcased novel interventions such as a VR-based body swap protocol and the integration of large language models (LLMs) for real-time feedback. Emphasizing the global relevance of this work, Kleim stated that “in an age of global uncertainty, resilience is not a luxury – it is a foundational human capacity. Promoting adaptive responses to stress and trauma through science and technology must be a shared international priority”.

Nikola Biller-Andorno, a leading biomedical ethicist and member of the EU Ethics Group advising the European Commission, delivered a keynote titled “The Dream of Eternal Life”. In her presentation, Nikola Biller-Andorno noted how human augmentation technologies often evolve beyond their original clinical purposes. These technologies initially developed to assist patients such as those with quadriplegia, can lead to applications with far-reaching societal and ethical implications. She emphasized that as these technologies advance, “setting appropriate limits and priorities becomes crucial”. Biller-Andorno argued that "addressing these challenges requires collaborative engagement that spans disciplines, cultures, and national borders”. This ensures that ethical, safety, and accessibility considerations are thoughtfully addressed while supporting innovation that benefits society, making a strong case for the importance of interdisciplinary exchanges across borders such as the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week.

Challenges and opportunites ahead

Throughout the the various workshops, events, and dialogues, it became evident that technological advances in human augmentation are poised to have a profound impact on health, well-being, and human capabilities. While these innovations hold great promise – improving mobility, cognition, and resilience – they also raise important concerns about safety, fairness, accessibility, and the potential to widen social inequalities. Several participants agreed that, the challenge lies not only in advancing technology but in ensuring that it benefits all members of society, without compromising ethical standards or human dignity.

In this regard, Switzerland and Korea, as global leaders with complementary strengths – Switzerland’s expertise in ethics and biomedical research and Korea’s leadership in digital innovation and technology – can learn significantly from one another. They also offer unique perspectives on shaping responsible innovation and breakthrough technologies.

Lasting partnerships with a strong focus on health and well-being

Bringing together leading representatives from diplomacy, academia, and industry to discuss pressing technological trends and scientific breakthroughs, the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week and the Swiss-Korean Life Science Symposium have, over recent years, evolved into flagship platforms for scientific exchange between Korea and Switzerland. As Birgit Kleim noted in relation to her research on resilience and mental health, “innovative mental health solutions emerge through collaboration of diverse minds – by connecting Swiss scientific expertise with Korea’s leadership in digital technologies, we can co-create transformative tools for resilience through human augmentation.” In summary, platforms like the Swiss-Korean Innovation Week act as catalysts for transforming scientific advancements into tangible solutions with global impact, extending well beyond the two countries.

UZH has been an active contributor to these platforms, with researchers from across its faculties contributing insights and forging new collaborations with peers in Korea. This engagement is reflected in UZH’s growing research output with Korean colleagues, particularly in areas related to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 3 (“Good Health and Well-Being”). Much of this work is carried out in partnership with Korea’s leading research universities, including Seoul National University, Korea University, and Yonsei University.

Raphael Kunz