Wildcard: Responsible & Sustainable AI, Beyond the Challenge Areas

The Wildcard is the open door of the Prototype Fund. If you have a strong idea that fits this year’s theme of Responsible & Sustainable AI, but doesn’t fit neatly into any of the dedicated Challenge Areas, this is where you apply.

Context

Each Challenge Area is shaped around a specific problem, together with one of our Challenge Owners. But good ideas don’t always fit a predefined frame. The Wildcard exists so that promising, theme-relevant prototypes aren’t left out simply because they sit between or beyond denoted Challenge Areas.

This is the one challenge without a Challenge Owner. It is held open by the Prototype Fund team, and we will design a tailor-made prototyping journey with whomever we select.

What we’re looking for

We welcome your unique take on what Responsible & Sustainable AI can mean in practice. 

A strong Wildcard application:

• clearly fits the overall theme of Responsible & Sustainable AI, on the responsibility side, the sustainability and digital sufficiency side, or both
• explains why it sits outside the existing Challenge Areas, and what gap or angle it covers that they don’t
• can be built and tested as a functional prototype within the four-month prototyping phase
• shows clear potential for real-world use beyond the prototype

Your project does not need an explicit AI component if it delivers real impact toward the theme. What matters is the contribution, not the label.

Expected Outputs

As with the other challenges, projects are expected to develop:

• a functional prototype (technical or socio-technical)
• a clearly defined use case
• documentation of methodology, assumptions, and limitations

The prototype should include open-source elements, in whole or in part.

How selection works

Wildcard applications are assessed against the program’s general selection criteria, just like every other challenge. This is a discretionary slot: We reserve it for ideas we believe to contribute meaningfully to the program’s overall learnings on Responsible & Sustainable AI in Switzerland and beyond.

Not sure your idea fits? Apply anyway; that’s what the Wildcard is for. Explore the full set of Challenge Areas if you’d like to see the broader picture first.