Reports

Future Now: Energy-Efficient AI

AI's role in sustainability is complex. While its application can help reduce global greenhouse gas emissions, it comes with significant energy demands. AI could drive a 165% increase in data centre power demand by 2030, prompting investments in low-carbon energy by an increasingly diverse range of companies. Global innovators are boosting the energy efficiency of AI, but Jevon’s Paradox suggests increased efficiency might actually lead to higher overall consumption. In this month’s edition, we take a look at the innovations that aim to reduce AI’s energy intensity – from hardware to software to underlying principles.

• Key takeaways
• More specialised AI chips can reduce power consumption
• Light is being harnessed for data processing and transmission
• Software can make models lighter and greener
• Heat from computing processes can help to ween us off fossil fuels
• Some innovators are rethinking AI from first principles

Future Now: Regenerative agriculture in 2025

• Key takeaways
• Data is enabling farmers to look at soil as a complex ecosystem
• Innovators are developing sustainable and scalable alternatives to synthetic fertilisers
• Automation and AI can complement regenerative practices
• Nature’s own processes can help to reduce chemical inputs
• Financing tools are tackling the up-front costs of regenerative agriculture