Geneva’s young people are building connections, capacity and protecting the AI future one event at a time.
What kind of AI world do we actually want to live in?
In Geneva, a generation of young people are taking a step forward in creating a space for conversation about artificial intelligence. They are hosting events, building solutions, and bringing people together to think critically about the future of technology’s role in society at large. Over the past few months, three very different events revealed just how wide-ranging, serious, and full of momentum that conversation has become in Geneva.
One group is stress-testing our ability to think critically in scenarios where the information landscape is under attack by malicious actors. Another is showcasing demos of AI-powered prototypes, exploring the edge of our technical capabilities. And a third is asking the question that many in Silicon Valley seem reluctant to confront: what is all of this actually costing the planet?
Despite their differences, all three events recently hosted by the Geneva Hub shared something important in common: they brought people together. Young researchers, students, founders, policymakers, and innovators met not just to listen, but to exchange ideas, challenge one another, and build relationships that continue beyond a single evening.
Why This Matters
These initiatives are more than isolated events. They represent a growing movement of young people who are actively shaping Geneva’s AI landscape through collaboration, innovation, and accountability. Geneva’s unique ecosystem bringing together international organizations, startups, researchers, and civil society creates an environment where these conversations can evolve into meaningful action.
The future of AI will not be decided solely by large corporations or governments. It will also be shaped by communities willing to ask difficult questions, experiment with new ideas, and build solutions responsibly. At the same time, community-building activities are crucial to reach and empower the local constituencies that global platforms like the UN and AI for Good are lacking.
Key Achievements
Can You Tell What’s Real? - Organised by IPYG & the Young AI Leaders of Geneva
Imagine you’re handed a piece of content. A news clip. A social media post. A breaking update. Your task: figure out if it’s real — and then use that judgment to make a decision that affects a peace-building effort.
That was the challenge put to participants at an interdisciplinary evening hosted by IPYG and our Geneva Hub. What made the evening unforgettable was the crisis simulation, designed and facilitated by our Board member Haroon Khan. Participants had to discernAI-generated “slop” from real content, navigate algorithmic radicalization scenarios, and grapple with manipulated breaking news all in real time, under pressure. It was theory meeting practice in the most direct way possible.
The takeaway wasn’t a neat answer. It was something more valuable: the muscle memory of critical thinking, practiced together. Because in a world where AI can generate anything, the most important skill isn’t technical. It’s discernment. Human judgement.
The Builder: Five Minutes to Show a Year of Work - LuxPricer at AI Tinkerers Geneva - presented by Sonya and Vestin
During a five-minute presentation at the inaugural meetup of the AI Tinkerers in Geneva, Sonya and Vestin, both Geneva Hub members, showcased a project built through months of experimentation, setbacks, rebuilding, and persistence. LuxPricer is an AI-powered tool designed to evaluate the prices of luxury handbags using market data and AI models. By taking a picture of a handbag, the user get information about its name, its brands, its market prices based on its quality with a list of dedicated links to similar models currently sold in major reselling platforms.
The journey has not been easy. The team faced challenges scraping reliable data, improving speed and accuracy, and deploying the application across major mobile platforms. Through continuous testing, teamwork, and determination, they built a product that users now actively trust and use.
What comes next?
We're focused on expanding our customer base, integrating historical pricing data, and making data collection faster and more efficient.
The journey doesn't stop here—our work continues as we build smarter tools and deliver even greater value to our users.
For more information, visit our website, follow us on Instagram, or download our app.
The Conscience: What Is AI Actually Costing Us? - Sustainable AI Network’s Inaugural Conference — AI & The Planet
When we talk about AI’s environmental impact, the conversation almost always stops at energy. The Sustainable AI Network, led by our member Mario Fernandez, wanted to challenge this boundary.
At the conference AI & The Planet, attendees from international organizations, academia, civil society, and the private sector came together to map the full environmental cost of AI. The minerals pulled from the ground, the hardware manufacturing, the water consumed, the e-waste left behind.
The conference featured speakers from UNEP, UNCTAD, the World Economic Forum, and the University of Geneva. Beyond the discussions themselves, the event successfully created meaningful networking opportunities and sparked conversations about future collaborations. Geneva, with its unique concentration of international institutions and policymakers, is uniquely placed to lead this conversation globally.
The challenge now, as the organizers put it plainly, is turning that energy into ongoing action rather than a one-off evening. That challenge is already being taken seriously.
Three events. Three very different rooms. But the same underlying question runs through all of them:
“What kind of AI world do we actually want to live in?”
One event is questioning it. One is building it better. One is showing its real impacts on the planet Earth. And all three are led by young people in Geneva, members of our community, doing the work without waiting to be asked.
That’s not a coincidence. Geneva’s unique mix of international organizations, civil society, researchers, and startups creates exactly the kind of environment where these conversations can build into something.
Throughout the development process, the teams faced several challenges, particularly with organization, speed, and accuracy. For LuxPricer; understanding and deploying the application across major mobile phone platforms also proved to be complex. These obstacles were overcome through hard work, patience, and continuous team discussions and collaboration. While other events like the sustainable AI conference were organized, there might be technical setup to find right panelists and more.
Next Steps
LuxPricer is moving into its next chapter as a more powerful, faster, and widely accessible tool designed to help users navigate the luxury market with the support of AI. In addition, the Sustainable AI Network will host its second Conference next year, focusing on the intersection of AI sovereignty and environmental constraints, continuing the conversation on sustainable and responsible AI innovation.
What’s Coming Next
These are not one-off moments.
Each of these communities is already planning what comes next. One upcoming highlight is THE HIVE — the official Young AI Leaders side event at the AI for Good Summit where participants from around the world will come together to share projects, exchange ideas, and spark city-to-city collaborations.
The event will take place on July 7, and everyone interested in innovation, collaboration, and the future of AI is warmly invited to join the conversation and be part of what comes next. Click here to register.
There’s a seat at the table. Come pull it up.