MANUFACTURERS ARE ALREADY using AI to help reduce the impact of production on the environment, but AI itself is creating a new hazard by using vast amounts of additional energy and water (for cooling).

The digital world is already responsible for around 4% of global carbon emissions, more than the entire aviation industry, with 4.6 billion people connected in some way to 30 billion devices. Even before AI, energy consumption by data centres was growing by 25% every year, despite the fact that servers are now 20% more efficient than five years ago. 

AI is going to consume vastly more power. Gartner predicts that AI alone could burn up a further 3.5% of the world’s energy by 2030, almost doubling the environmental footprint of today’s digital world.

By 2026, AI servers will need as much power as the whole of Argentina, the Netherlands or Sweden – 130 terawatts per year or 0.5% of entire global energy consumption.

I WAS RECENTLY in Saudi Arabia, speaking at a vast forum on the future of cities using smart solutions. The Kingdom is planning a new city the size of Belgium, just one part of a monumental vision to create homes for 10 million more people.

Their event drew over 200,000. In many of the exhibition areas there were displays created using AI, which is shaping every aspect of their city designs, infrastructure developments and day-to-day operations.

The exhibition area was packed with huge models of urban areas, up to 12 metres wide by 15 metres long. Each home, road, car, office, hospital and factory was reproduced on a tiny scale.

AI is creating digital models that will operate like Google Earth. Viewers will ‘fly’ over concept cities from any height, or dive down to the level of an individual building, walk virtually through front doors, enjoy 360-degree views of each room.

MANY OF MY CLIENTS are the world’s largest manufacturers, and I am often asked what next-generation digital will mean for their automation, factory design, maintenance and supply chain management, and how that will integrate with what is known as Industry 4.0. 

This is all about tracking components (the Internet of Things), smart sensors, robotic automation, Big Data, cloud computing, predictive analytics, and now of course AI.

Manufacturers are already spending $6bn a year on AI, increasing 24% annually. And by 2030, it is likely that they will realise cost savings of $2bn or more every year as a direct result.

Over half of the UK’s larger manufacturers are investing in AI, machine learning and augmented reality, and 40% say that they will soon adopt generative AI. Three quarters have already invested in automation or are about to, and one quarter plan to automate up to 25% of all processes over the next twenty-four months.

AI WILL CHANGE how we spend leisure time, how we decide what to do – and will improve our experiences. 

AI will understand you better than you know yourself, when finding the best possible fit between how you feel personally and the leisure options in your price range. AI will do this by matching your life story and profile against millions of others. 

Specialist AI platforms will work in a similar way to Amazon, offering a vast array of customised travel and leisure experiences.

The best will use insights about you from many sources, some of which you may have deliberately given access to.