Swiss survey finds strong preference for nature and local production over an AI-led future

Nature and local production lead the Swiss vision of tomorrow. The Schweizer Zukunftskompass 2026, published by the Swiss non-profit Monda Futura, records strong support for a cleaner, more regional and less digitally saturated country. The findings arrive as artificial intelligence moves rapidly into workplaces, schools, public services and private life.

Monda Futura asked participants to assess 40 possible futures spanning health, farming, technology, work, education and democracy. The project combined ideas from more than 1,300 participants with a representative survey of 2,203 people conducted by gfs.bern. Respondents rated each scenario from -2, meaning strong rejection, to +2, meaning strong support.

The most popular proposition imagined flourishing nature supported by more conscious consumption. It scored 1.60. Seasonal and regional food production followed closely at 1.58. Other highly rated ideas promoted local food cycles, greener neighbourhoods designed around short journeys and a revival of high-quality craftsmanship.

The pattern gives Swiss debates about technology and sustainability a clear public backdrop. Residents appear ready to use useful tools while giving greater weight to landscapes, trusted supply chains, nearby services and personal autonomy. The survey describes a country looking for continuity in its institutions and daily habits while managing rapid technological change.

The top-ranked scenarios favour food that travels less and communities that feel more connected. Seasonal and regional production scored 1.58, reflecting support for agriculture organised around local cycles. The survey also placed local craftsmanship, circular economic practices and greener environments near the top of its ranking.

These preferences fit Switzerland's strong regional identities. Food systems differ across the cantons, from alpine dairy and mountain agriculture to vineyards, market gardens and urban farms. A preference for local production can therefore express several concerns at once: resilience, quality, environmental protection and confidence in producers whose work remains visible to consumers.

Health also ranked as a shared public priority. Respondents backed a well-staffed, publicly financed health system and a broad understanding of health that includes the mind, the body and surrounding conditions. The same outlook supports neighbourhoods designed for short journeys and a more circular use of resources.

Monda Futura's categories reinforce the trend. Ecological and social futures achieved an average score of 1.17, ahead of liberal-bourgeois scenarios at 0.90. The results point towards practical improvements in daily life rather than a single ideological programme. Swiss respondents appear to value functioning public services, accountable institutions and markets that remain tied to real places and relationships.

Swiss respondents draw a firm line between using technology and letting it organise everyday life. A future in which people partly withdraw from permanent digital presence and artificial intelligence received a positive score of 1.21. Proposals for more pervasive technological control fell sharply lower.

A world in which humans make decisions while AI carries out their instructions scored -0.21. Continuous data-driven health monitoring scored -0.24, the lowest result in the survey. New forms of communal living also fell below approval, at -0.18.

Monda Futura calls this gap the “technology paradox”. Research cited in the report suggests that roughly three-quarters of Swiss adults already use AI chatbots. Familiarity with the tools has not translated into enthusiasm for a society in which algorithms monitor health, direct decisions or occupy every part of the day.

The response is selective rather than uniformly hostile. High-tech scenarios averaged 0.32, well below ecological and social futures. The figures suggest that acceptance depends on purpose, limits and accountability. Digital services may be welcome when they save time or improve access. Pervasive systems that demand constant data, reduce human discretion or reshape social arrangements attract considerably less support.

The survey's “silent middle” combines environmental concern with personal responsibility and a restrained state. Respondents supported regional food systems, environmental protection, civil society, direct democracy and personal freedom at the same time. The combination cuts across Switzerland's familiar political categories.

Political self-identification remained the strongest dividing factor, shaping responses in 29 of the 40 scenarios. Yet broad agreement emerged around concrete features of daily life. People can disagree over left and right while sharing an interest in pleasant neighbourhoods, trustworthy food, competent government and clear limits on technology.

Monda Futura also found that scenarios based on familiar institutions, regionalism and slower living averaged 1.09, compared with 0.71 for more radically progressive and technological scenarios. The attraction of the familiar does not amount to a demand for hierarchy or a return to an earlier social order. Respondents favoured craftsmanship, nature, face-to-face contact and strong local ties.

That mix helps explain why the results resist a simple partisan reading. Switzerland's federal structure, direct democratic traditions and strong civic associations create space for ecological policies alongside market activity and individual choice. The preferred future looks negotiated and locally anchored, with public authority expected to provide stability without directing every aspect of life.

Age divides Swiss views less often than political identity, with young and old sharing many priorities. Age was the main dividing factor in only four of the 40 scenarios. Across generations, respondents broadly supported regionalism, environmental protection, social security and personal freedom.

One educational issue stood out. People aged 15 to 29 showed markedly greater support than those aged over 75 for clearly structured institutions that still allow individual paths. The result suggests a generational difference in how flexibility should operate, rather than a wholesale split over technology or social order.

The survey requires careful reading. Its raw sample leaned somewhat to the political left, so the researchers weighted the results by language, sex, age, education, urbanisation and political self-identification. That process reduced the effective sample size to 697. The adjustment strengthens the need to treat individual scores as indicators of public mood rather than exact forecasts.

For policymakers, the implications are practical. Artificial intelligence projects will face a public that expects visible benefits, human oversight and limits on data collection. Climate and food policies may find wider support when they connect national goals to farms, neighbourhoods, regional businesses and personal choice. The survey offers a snapshot of Swiss expectations in 2026, with implementation likely to determine whether those expectations endure.