AI Everywhere - Is there nothing it can't do?

Hi folks, welcome to another edition of my newsletter - there’s been a ot happening in the world of tech and sustainability in the two weeks since I last sent out this news letter, so let’s dive in, but first a little humour - is AI coming to take ALL the jobs?! 😀

In the News: Technology Meets Sustainability

Some of the news stories that have caught my eye recently

•  Google and Isomorphic Labs Release Groundbreaking AI AlphaFold 3 - AlphaFold 3 is an AI model capable of predicting the structures and interactions of all of life’s molecules with unparalleled accuracy. This new model, and the free server for researchers they also announced will supercharge drug discoveries, and dppen significantly our knowledge of the biological world. Link
  

  

• AI at work is here - You’ve heard of BYOD (Bring Your Own Device - the phenomenon back around 2007-2010 when corporate employees bought their own iPhones instead of using the company Blackberry’s), well now there’s BYOAI (Bring Your Own AI). Microsoft and LinkedIn have just released a wide-ranging report on the use of AI in the workplace showing 75% of knowledge workers are using AI at work, and 78% of them are bringing their own AI to work! The report goes on to show how AI abilities are now being actively looked for in the hiring process. Link
  

  

• Is AI helping us become Dr Doolittle? - Scientists have taken recordings of sperm whale sounds recorded between 2005-2018 and run them through AI to look for discernible patterns in the vocalisations. They think they have worked out a kind of sperm whale phonetic alphabet, from which it may be possible to work out what they’re saying to one another, and possibly communicate with them - what would we say to them, and what would they say to us (“Don’t try the plastic bags, they give you terrible indigestion”)? Link
  

  

  
  

• Renewable Energy Passes 30% of Global Electricity Supply - Renewable energy accounted for more than 30% of the worlds’ electricity for the first time ever last year following a steep rise in the amount of solar and wind energy deployed. And with renewable energy prices continuing to tumble, a new era of falling fossil fuel generation is imminent with 2023 likely the peak year for emissions in the power sector. Link
  

  

  
  

• First MegaWatt Charge Station Opens in the US - the first charging station using the new MegaWatt charging standard for charging trucks has come online in the US. The charging station is in Bakersfield, California, and it has regular CCS chargers for normal EVs, as well as the 1.2MW CCS chargers for trucks. Given how important it is to electrify the global trucking fleet, this is a welcome development. Link
  

  

  That’s a big charger!

  
  

• Fully Electric Container Ship Launched - It is not just cars and trucking that is going electric… ships are too. There are many fully electric ferries already in operation, but just last week in China COSCO Shipping launched a fully electric 10,000 ton container ship. It will be a while yet before we see transatlantic container ships go fully electric, but this is a good start. Link
  

  

  
  

• Microsoft Bought A LOT of Renewables For Its AI - In case you haven’t heard, AI needs a lot of computing power to run. That lots of compute, needs a lot of power and cooling to operate. To cope with the expected uptick in power requirements of Microsoft’s AI plans, Microsoft has agreed to support the development of 10.5 GW of renewable energy. When you consider 1 GW is roughly the output of a nuclear reactor, Microsoft is supporting the development of just over 10 nuclear power reactors equivalent of renewables. this is quite literally a big deal! Link
  

  

  
  

• EU Parliament Approves Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Law - The EU has approved the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive - the CSDDD or CS3D as it has become known. The regulation makes companies liable for environmental, climate, and human rights issues in their supply chain. It will be phased in starting in 2027. Link

These are just a small selection of the fascinating stories I have come across in the recent weeks. I post most of the stories I come across on Threads (I’m using Twitter less and less), so if you want to see more stories like this, follow me there (if you’re not already).

Blog posts

Some of my latest writings on my blog

• The Untapped Potential of Tech and Finance in Reducing Supply Chain Waste - Food waste is a global issue affecting supply chains. Approximately one-third of all food produced for people is lost or wasted annually, with significant economic and environmental consequences. This article discusses how a mix of technology and capital can significantly reduce these losses. Link

Podcast Highlights

Recent episodes

• Climate Confident

  • Renewables and Regulation: A Deep Dive With Novus Energy Advisors - In this episode of the podcast I spoke to Emily Easley, founder of Novus Energy Advisors to talk in-depth about the evolving energy landscape in the US. We discussed the implications of the Inflation Reduction Act, the future of energy storage technologies, and the complexities of regulatory environments. Link
    

• Sustainable Supply Chain

  • The AI Edge: AI Innovations Driving Supply Chain Efficiency - In this episode I chatted with Amir Haramaty, CEO of aiOla, a company bringing the benefits of highly accurate speech recognition to industry. Amir talked about how the platform not just transcribes audio, but also converts it into structured data, so it can be embedded in business processes, and the data structured, and made useful for all aspects of the business.

In coming episodes of the podcasts I will be talking to companies like Dexory about robots, FocalPoint about supplier management, Ansell and more. Follow the podcasts in your podcast app of choice to ensure you don’t miss any episodes.

Featured Charts

• This is a challenging graph to look at, but a necessary one. This is a graph of daily average sea surface temperatures from 1979-2024. It clearly shows that not only was 2023 an absolute standout year in terms of ocean temperatures (and not in a good way, but that 2024 is beating 2023’s record by some margin. This has huge implications, not just for us (and the storms it will add energy to), but also to the marine life that are unused to living in such temperatures
  

  

  
  

• You know how the naysayers are always talking about how much mining will be needed for EVs, and so they’re not environmentally friendly at all? Feel free to show them this graph!

  

• Britain has done a good job of shifting away from fossil fuels for electricity generation since 2009, as this chart clearly shows
  

  

  
  

• And finally, wind and solar have scaled up (from 100TWh to 1,000TWH) faster than any other sources of electricity in history
  

  

Misc stuff

This is very true this - we have accomplished A LOT - but we need to do a lot more

This is a cool thread on the use of gas in electricity generation

And finally, this is excellent!

Engage

• If you made it this far, well done! If you liked this newsletter, or learned something new, feel free to share this newsletter with family and friends. Encourage folks to sign up for it.
  
  Do please get in touch with me with your thoughts and suggestions on how I can improve the newsletter, or with any other suggestions you may have.
  

• Finally, since being impacted by the tech layoffs, I'm currently on the market for a new role. If you know someone who could benefit from my tech savvy, sustainability, and strong social media expertise, I'd be grateful for a referral.

Here’s the link to the climate comedy video I mentioned at the top of this email (be aware that there is some NSFW language) - it stars comedian Jo Brand, and climate scientist Mark Maslin (who I talked with in an excellent episode of the Climate Confident late last year)

*** Be aware that any typos you find in this newsletter are tests to see who is paying attention! ***