Closing the Loop: Transforming AI into a Green Force

November 16, 2024, 13:30-14:30
Bulgaria Pavilion

As the global demand for digital infrastructure continues to grow, so does its environmental impact. Green computing has emerged as a crucial strategy for reducing energy consumption, minimizing emissions, and promoting sustainability in IT practices. However, despite growing awareness the environmental impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and energy consumption is becoming increasingly clear.
Gaps remain between green computing strategies and their practical implementation. These include inconsistent reporting, lack of transparency, and varied levels of commitment across sectors.

This session aims to explore these gaps and analyze how companies across industries are addressing sustainability challenges. Furthermore, the session will share positive use cases where energy reduction has been achieved via AI, as well as identifying practical strategies, challenges, and solutions for driving sustainability in AI and computing infrastructure.

By sharing on-the-ground experiences and expert insights, this session will showcase the problems and opportunities for making AI operations more environmentally friendly. Bringing together key stakeholders from the private sector, government, academia, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), the discussion will provide a comprehensive view of the opportunities, hurdles, and future directions for green computing.

Moderator: Thomas Basikolo, ITU

Speakers
Tomas Lamanauskas, ITU Deputy Secretary-General
Gabriela Ramos, Assistant Director-General UNESCO (Social and Human Sciences)
Kevin Thompson, GESI COO
Adam Elman, Google EU Head of Sustainability
Mary de Wysocki, CISCO CSO
Vijay Karia, CEO, Opticloud
Sara Ballan, World Bank

Panel Session
Moderator: Bilel Jamoussi
Panelists
·       Ahsraf Abushady UNIDO
·       Kevin Thomas GESI
·       Mary De Wysoci Cisco
·       Sara Ballan World Bank
·       Adam Elman, Google