2022 ADM+S Symposium: Keynote by Dr Melissa Gregg

Keynote titled: The Ecological Impact of an Automated Society 

This talk provides an introduction to the energy and ecological costs that are growing alongside the deployment of AI in society, from the individual choices made by technology consumers to the challenges involved in managing workloads in data centers. The current trajectory of AI adoption, including the hype around specific applications of this technology, rarely acknowledges the material pressure on planetary resources to support a fully automated and immersive digital future. This talk draws on my current work setting up Intel’s first Sustainability Office for software in the Office of the CTO to highlight three areas of utmost importance for industry standardization in a volatile climate future: industry-wide tools for measuring and reducing carbon, circular business models to supplement recycling policies for e-waste, and an engineering curriculum informed by humanities principles of equity and social justice.