As we wrap up an extraordinary year for both AI and climate innovation, this week’s episode delivers an unmissable debate straight from Cambridge Tech Week: “Is climate good or bad for AI?” This thought-provoking episode is essential listening for founders, investors, and anyone passionate about the intersection of technology and sustainability.
The lively panel features:
• Sara Jones, Head of Marketing, Carbon 13
• Jonno Evans, Principal, IQ Capital
• Adam Mandel, Entrepreneur in Residence, Carbon 13
• Anil Madhavapeddy, Professor of Planetary Computing, University of Cambridge Computer Laboratory
Key Takeaways
• AI’s Growing Footprint: Training frontier AI models is massively energy-intensive - think billions of pounds and the equivalent annual power consumption of entire UK counties.
• Global Competition & UK’s Role: The US and China dominate in sheer model scale and capital, but the UK can lead with small, efficient models, edge computing, and unique research talent.
• Climate Shockwaves: A 2.5ºC world would “fundamentally restructure the world’s global supply chain,” warns Prof. Madhavapeddy.
• Sovereign AI & Infrastructure: Expect a world where every country wants their own AI infrastructure - raising urgent questions about energy independence, data localisation, and technological sovereignty.
• Hardware & Efficiency Race: Innovations like IPUs and federated learning promise greater sustainability, but as costs drop, usage surges, so efficiency gains may be offset by soaring demand (Jevons’ Paradox in action).
Produced by Cambridge TV
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