News/Environment
No pain, all gain? Study shows sustainable advertising improves both profit and planet
Sustainable business practices and advertising campaign efficiency are proving to be complementary goals rather than competing priorities, despite recent political retreats from climate commitments. Forward-thinking marketers are discovering that viewing operations through a sustainability lens not only helps meet environmental targets but also uncovers valuable insights about media inefficiencies, enhances campaign performance, and prepares organizations for AI integration—demonstrating that profit and environmental responsibility can successfully coexist. The big picture: The advertising industry continues to embrace sustainability despite governmental policy shifts, with nearly 70% of digital ad businesses now ranking sustainability equal in importance to cookieless targeting and measurement. Industry organizations...
read Mar 24, 2025Utilities form AI consortium to tackle grid challenges while battling power demand
Electric utility companies are forming a new AI consortium to tackle the power sector's most pressing challenges, including surging electricity demand, grid vulnerabilities, and the clean energy transition. This collaboration between major U.S. power suppliers and tech companies like Microsoft, Oracle, and NVIDIA aims to develop specialized AI models that could transform how energy is generated, distributed, and managed—potentially creating a more efficient, resilient grid while supporting decarbonization efforts, despite the ironic reality that AI itself is a significant driver of increasing power consumption. The big picture: A new consortium announced Thursday brings together electric utility companies and technology giants...
read Mar 21, 2025AI emerges as key technology for reducing building emissions, claims UN report
Buildings contribute a third of global emissions and waste, but progress in reducing their environmental impact is now visible though still insufficient to meet climate goals, according to a new UN report. Artificial intelligence has emerged as a critical technology for improving building sustainability through smarter design, construction, and operations. This development represents a significant opportunity for the building sector to accelerate emissions reductions while also improving efficiency and cutting operational costs. The big picture: The United Nations Environment Programme reports that building emissions have halted their upward trend for the first time since the pandemic slowdown in 2020, signaling...
read Mar 19, 2025Gates and Modi partner on AI solutions for India’s development goals
Bill Gates' meeting with Prime Minister Modi represents a significant milestone in the growing technology collaboration between the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and India. Their discussions focused on leveraging artificial intelligence and innovation to address pressing challenges in agriculture, healthcare, and climate change, aligning with India's development goals for becoming a developed nation by 2047. This partnership highlights how public-private collaborations are shaping the future of technology implementation in developing economies. The big picture: Bill Gates met with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in India to discuss advancements in health, agriculture, and artificial intelligence as part of broader cooperation between...
read Mar 18, 2025Straining to serve: 5 key factors in why AI data centers consume so much power
AI data centers represent a new frontier in computational infrastructure, consuming energy at unprecedented scales to power the machine learning revolutions transforming our world. The massive power requirements of these specialized facilities stem from fundamental technical realities that separate them from traditional computing environments. Understanding these power dynamics is crucial as AI infrastructure continues to expand globally, presenting both engineering challenges and environmental concerns for the tech industry. 1. Intensive computational demands of AI workloads Deep learning and generative AI models like GPT-4 and Google's Gemini require extraordinary computational resources, processing trillions of parameters through thousands of specialized processors. These...
read Mar 13, 2025National Grid invests $100 million in AI startups to modernize energy grids
National Grid Partners is injecting fresh capital into the AI startup ecosystem with a strategic focus on energy grid innovation. The $100 million commitment represents a significant investment in technologies that could reshape how energy infrastructure operates, combining AI capabilities with climate goals and economic considerations at a time when grid modernization has become increasingly urgent. The big picture: National Grid Partners has committed $100 million to fund AI startups focused on developing next-generation energy grid technologies. The investment aims to accelerate development of grid systems that can simultaneously support economic growth, reduce customer costs, meet climate objectives, and ensure...
read Mar 12, 2025Mercedes tests new EV braking systems in Arctic conditions alongside AI development
"Winter is coming." And that's supposed to be a bad thing? Extreme weather testing coupled with artificial intelligence is transforming how automakers design and validate new vehicles. In northern Sweden's harsh winter conditions, companies like Mercedes-Benz, BMW, and Polestar are putting prototypes through rigorous real-world tests that complement their AI and augmented reality development processes. This dual approach accelerates vehicle development while ensuring systems function reliably in the most challenging environments, particularly for critical components like next-generation braking systems in electric vehicles. The big picture: Major automakers are leveraging Swedish Lapland's near-zero Fahrenheit temperatures to stress-test their vehicles under extreme...
read Mar 11, 2025Startup Tomorrow.io builds private weather forecasting network as National Weather Service faces stormy future
Weather prediction startup Tomorrow.io is positioning itself to fill critical gaps in forecasting as potential budget cuts threaten the National Weather Service. The company's network of satellites and AI-powered forecasting technology offers businesses customized weather intelligence at a time when public services may face significant reductions. As climate change increases weather volatility, this private-sector solution raises important questions about the future of weather forecasting infrastructure. The big picture: Tomorrow.io has built a commercial weather forecasting business that's gaining momentum as potential government cutbacks to the National Weather Service loom on the horizon. Founded in 2016 by Shimon Elkabetz, the company...
read Feb 28, 2025AI’s growing waste problem paradox and how the industry can solve it
Artificial intelligence's potential to combat climate change presents a complex paradox that challenges the tech industry's sustainability narrative. While AI systems, particularly large language models (LLMs), promise breakthroughs in renewable energy optimization and climate prediction, their own substantial environmental footprint raises questions about whether the ecological costs of developing these tools might outweigh their benefits in addressing climate challenges. The big picture: The environmental impact of artificial intelligence systems creates tension between tech innovation and sustainability goals, highlighting a critical challenge for the AI industry. Key details: Large language models and other advanced AI systems are being positioned as potential...
read Feb 26, 2025FlyX Marketing unveils AI-driven eco-friendly digital ad approach
Click on this, environmentally friendly folks. The digital marketing industry has largely overlooked its environmental impact, with traditional practices generating significant carbon emissions through data transfers, server usage, and resource-intensive campaigns. FlyX Marketing, an international digital agency, has launched a new initiative combining artificial intelligence with sustainable practices to address this environmental challenge while improving marketing performance. Key Initiative Overview: FlyX Marketing's Green Strategy Initiative employs AI optimization to reduce the carbon footprint of digital marketing activities while enhancing campaign effectiveness. The program targets email marketing, reducing CO2 emissions from 4g to 1.2g per email through AI optimization Website loading...
read Feb 21, 2025This AI-powered wireless tree network detects and autonomously suppresses wildfires
The threat of forest fires has grown significantly over the past two decades, with annual tree cover loss from fires increasing by 5.4% each year since 2001. Dryad Network has developed an autonomous wildfire detection and response system that combines AI-powered sensors with firefighting drones to address this escalating challenge. System Overview: Dryad's Silvanet creates a self-sustaining forest monitoring network that operates independently of traditional mobile networks. Solar-powered sensors are installed beneath the tree canopy to detect smoke and distinguish it from other emissions like vehicle exhaust The system uses a mesh network infrastructure that enables sensors to communicate even...
read Feb 20, 2025Global electricity demand is surging — but AI is only a small part of the story
The global electricity landscape is undergoing significant transformation, with demand rising 4.3% in 2024 and projected to maintain nearly 4% annual growth through 2027. While recent media attention has focused on data centers and AI power consumption, the actual drivers of electricity demand are more diverse and complex. Key growth drivers: Developing and emerging economies, particularly in Asia, are responsible for the majority of increased electricity consumption. China alone accounted for over half of global electricity demand growth in 2024, with its solar module, battery, and electric vehicle production consuming as much electricity as Italy uses annually India and Southeast...
read Feb 13, 2025New AI monitoring system to protect historic sites from natural disasters, war
Paris's cultural heritage community has taken a major step forward in protecting historic sites from threats like climate change and war with the formation of HeritageWatch.AI. The independent, non-commercial initiative, launched at France's culture ministry during the Artificial Intelligence Action Summit, brings together expertise from satellite imagery, 3D modeling, heritage preservation, and artificial intelligence. The partnership structure: HeritageWatch.AI unites four organizations in a groundbreaking collaboration to protect cultural heritage sites through advanced technology. The alliance includes 3D-modeling firm Iconem, satellite company Planet Labs PBC, the Aliph Foundation for heritage protection, and Microsoft Microsoft has committed $1 million over four years...
read Feb 12, 2025Salesforce’s AI Energy Score helps companies choose models by energy efficiency
The rapid growth of artificial intelligence has led to mounting concerns about its energy consumption and environmental impact. Salesforce has launched a new online tool called AI Energy Score that allows users to compare and evaluate the energy efficiency of different AI models. The big picture: The AI Energy Score tool provides standardized energy ratings and a public leaderboard to help developers and companies make environmentally conscious decisions when selecting AI models. The tool features a star rating system that makes it easy to identify the most energy-efficient models for common AI tasks like image creation, text generation, and note...
read Feb 10, 2025NASA oceanographer John Moisan is studying ocean health through the eyes of AI
NASA oceanographer John Moisan combines artificial intelligence with satellite data and evolutionary programming to understand ocean ecosystems and their changes over time. His innovative approach to studying marine biology involves developing sophisticated models that can measure ocean pigments from space, providing crucial insights into phytoplankton populations and overall ocean health. Professional Background and Expertise: Moisan brings extensive academic credentials and field experience to his role at NASA Goddard, shaping his unique approach to oceanographic research. His educational background includes a BS in marine biology and a PhD in coastal physical oceanography, providing a strong foundation for his current work Field...
read Feb 10, 2025AI transforms agriculture across Africa and beyond, from language translation to drones
The agricultural sector is undergoing significant transformation through artificial intelligence applications, particularly in developing regions like Africa where farming challenges are acute. While much attention focuses on AI advancement in major economies, practical AI implementations in agriculture are creating meaningful impact in food security and sustainable farming practices. Current State of Agricultural AI: Traditional farming faces multiple challenges including disease management, weather unpredictability, and resource limitations, particularly in developing regions where these issues directly impact global food security. In Ghana, recent cocoa crop diseases have demonstrated how agricultural challenges can affect both local economies and global supply chains Farmers in...
read Feb 10, 2025Equinix invests €350M in new French data center
Digital infrastructure leader Equinix has launched a major new data center in Meudon, France, representing a EUR 350 million investment in the company's xScale portfolio. The PA13x facility, unveiled alongside the Global Summit for AI Action, combines high-performance computing capabilities with innovative environmental sustainability features. Project Overview: The new PA13x data center spans 78,910 square feet of colocation space and delivers 28.8MW of IT capacity to support advanced computing and AI workloads. The facility comprises 12 data halls within a 20,745 square meter building The project represents a EUR 350 million investment in France's digital infrastructure The data center is...
read Feb 7, 2025Los Alamos is using Meta’s speech recognition AI to detect earthquakes
Researchers at Los Alamos National Laboratory have adapted Meta's speech recognition AI model, Wav2Vec-2.0, to analyze seismic activity and better understand fault behavior patterns. Key innovation: Meta's Wav2Vec-2.0, originally designed for speech recognition, has been repurposed to study seismic signals, treating earth movements as acoustic patterns similar to human speech. The research team applied the AI model to analyze data from Hawaii's 2018 Kilauea volcano collapse The adaptation leverages similarities between speech patterns and seismic wave signatures Nvidia GPUs were utilized to process extensive seismic datasets efficiently Technical implementation: The AI system was trained on continuous seismic waveforms and refined...
read Feb 7, 2025AI accelerates lab-grown meat development with implications for animal welfare, environment
Laboratory-grown meat production is gaining traction in the United States, with two FDA-approved companies currently producing cultured meat products, though initial output remains modest at around 50,000 pounds annually. Current state of the market: The lab-grown meat industry, valued at $200 million, is projected to grow 15% annually through 2030, with initial products primarily being used in pet food. GOOD Meat and Upside Foods, both California-based companies, have secured FDA approval and are leading the production efforts Current production volumes are relatively small compared to traditional meat production, serving a U.S. population of over 350 million Environmental and ethical drivers:...
read Feb 7, 2025UK thirst for AI sparks water shortage fears
The UK's AI expansion plans face scrutiny due to potential strain on national water resources, particularly from water-intensive data centers required to power artificial intelligence systems. The core challenge: Large-scale AI infrastructure development in the UK raises concerns about water consumption at data centers, which require substantial amounts of fresh water for cooling systems. A typical data center can consume between 11-19 million liters of water daily, equivalent to the usage of a town with 30,000-50,000 residents Thames Water has engaged in discussions with the government regarding water demand challenges related to data centers The government has designated data centers...
read Feb 5, 2025Ooh La La and AI: Global regulation talks continue at French summit
The third AI Action Summit, co-chaired by France and India, will convene global leaders, scientists, and industry experts in Paris on February 10-11, 2025, to address artificial intelligence governance and innovation. Event Overview and Participation: The summit will bring together a diverse group of global stakeholders to discuss AI regulation and development. 60 heads of state and government will attend, including U.S. Vice President J.D. Vance, European Commission President Ursula Van der Leyen, Chinese Deputy Prime Minister Ding Xuexiang, and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi The event will feature Nobel and Turing Prize laureates among hundreds of scientists and academic...
read Feb 5, 2025DeepSeek may be not only cheaper but better for the environment among other perks
The Chinese AI company DeepSeek has demonstrated AI capabilities matching those of OpenAI while using significantly less computational power and cost, challenging Silicon Valley's perceived dominance in artificial intelligence development. The breakthrough development: DeepSeek's recent release of AI models has demonstrated performance comparable to OpenAI's leading technology while requiring only a fraction of the resources and expense. The Chinese company operates with less than 10% of OpenAI's workforce yet has achieved similar AI capabilities This development challenges OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's assertion that competition with his company is "totally hopeless" The timing is particularly significant as it comes shortly after...
read Feb 5, 2025AI decodes 2000-year-old Roman scroll damaged by volcano
Mount Vesuvius's eruption preserved a charred Roman scroll that has finally been deciphered after 2000 years through innovative use of AI and advanced X-ray technology. Historical context: The papyrus scroll is one of 1800 artifacts recovered from a villa in Herculaneum (modern-day Ercolano) during the 1750s, all carbonized by the intense heat of volcanic debris. Initially mistaken for firewood by locals, these scrolls were later recognized as valuable historical texts Around 200 scrolls have been carefully opened using mechanical clock-based devices Three of these scrolls were acquired by Oxford's Bodleian Library through an unusual trade involving King George III and...
read Feb 4, 2025Google Maps’ new AI upgrade lets users ask questions about locations
Gemini's AI capabilities are set to expand within Google Maps through a new feature allowing users to make direct inquiries about locations on the map. Key update details; Google Maps is preparing to integrate a new Gemini AI feature that will enable users to ask questions about specific locations directly from the map interface. Code discovered in the latest Android version of Google Maps reveals an upcoming "Ask about place" button that will appear above the search box The feature will automatically include location context in Gemini searches, allowing users to inquire about various aspects of a place, from driving...
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