Switzerland is about to vote on a new government-led electronic identity system. This decision will shape how citizens prove who they are online for years to come.

🗳️ Why does it matter?

Three years ago, Swiss voters rejected a private sector model for eID. The new proposal keeps digital identity in public hands and sets a high bar for privacy, security, and user control.

🎙️ In this episode:

Dr Rolf Rauschenbach from the Federal Office of Justice explains what is at stake in the vote, how the Swiss eID system is designed, and how it compares to digital identity models in other countries.

We discuss why the previous law failed, what has changed, and how the new project balances convenience with individual rights. Topics include adoption, transparency, self-sovereign identity, interoperability with Europe, and the wider impact on democracy and digital transformation.

👥 Who should listen?

If you are in Switzerland or interested in digital identity, privacy, or citizenship, this episode offers a clear overview and a critical look at what the new eID could mean for trust and daily life.

Guest: Dr Rolf Rauschenbach, eID communications officer, Federal Office of Justice.

In this episode, Gabor talks with Dan Davies about how accountability vanishes in our increasingly complex institutions. Why do massive systems routinely make disastrous decisions, and why does no one seem responsible?

Dan Davies draws on his experience in banking regulation and equity research, along with cybernetics and information theory, to explain how feedback loops collapse and decisions emerge from a “black box” that no one owns. They explore how complexity breeds unaccountability, why managers evade responsibility, and what it would take to restore real accountability in an age dominated by industrialized, algorithmic decision-making.

Further Reading & Connection

• Book: The Unaccountability Machine: Why Big Systems Make Terrible Decisions – and How the World Lost Its Mind — Profile Books

• Dan’s Substack - Back of Mind: Essays on economics, systems, and the crises of modern civilisation → backofmind.substack.com

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