Will A.I. use up all the worlds electricity? Or will A.I. contribute more by helping us solve the world’s sustainability problems?

In an era of ‘exponential AI,’ the answers have huge implications for our future, but they are far from clear, because ICTs contribute in so many ways to energy savings as well as use.

I meet with IT & sustainability guru Dr Vlad Coroama for an in-depth look at both sides of the ledger.

After exploring direct contributions and costs, Vlad takes the discussion up a level by exploring secondary effects (positive and negative) to get me thinking MUCH bigger about the dynamics shaping our future. We have a lot of coffee-fuelled fun going back and forth over his ideas! And of course Vlad draws on his research to offer some overall assessments of where we are headed with AI, data centers and energy.

Vlad Coroama heads the Roegen Centre for Sustainability (RC4S) where he assists governments in using digital technologies to save energy and emissions, and in reducing the direct footprint of digitalisation. Much of his work focuses on the rapidly increasing energy/carbon footprint of AI and data centers. He has researched the complex relationships between computing and sustainability for 20 years in Switzerland (ETH Zurich, Empa), Brazil (University of São Paulo), Portugal (Instituto Superior Técnico, Coimbra University), Sweden (KTH Stockholm), and Germany (TU Berlin).

You will enjoy Vlad's company. He is a BIG thinker, he builds his arguments thoughtfully, based on data, and he has a way of cutting through complexity using simple, powerful examples. The world needs 10,000 more like him!

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As always, additional commentary and takeaways and the full transcript will be up on the Future Bites page soon. More on my work as a Futurist Speaker, and why I do what I do, at www.brucemccabe.com

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First generation surgical robots, such as the Da Vinci set new benchmarks for precision and accuracy. With A.I. and robotics developments racing ahead at breakneck speed, what new capabilities are in the pipeline? How might next-generation surgical robots impact the future of healthcare?

I visit Prof. Philipp Fürnstahl, a global leader in this field, to unpack how his robots are going beyond vision to listen and feel and apply other senses as they operate. He compares orthopaedic and soft-tissue systems, explains why preop plans must be supplemented by real-time context, dives into spinal surgery as an early use-case for his next-gen robots, and explains the systems challenges of integrating the new innovations with teams, operating room workflows, telemedicine and training.

And as you will hear, Philipp gets me thinking much bigger about which patients will benefit and why. With procedure demand rising and surgeons in short supply, the opportunity is more than safer and more precise surgery, it's scaleable surgery.

Prof. Fürnstahl has authored more than 150 publications in computer-assisted surgery. As well as heading the lab at Balgrist, he is Professor for Research in Orthopedic Computer Science (ROCS) at the University of Zürich. He invited me to visit him at the Computer-Aided Surgery Lab at Balgrist University Hospital where we toured the full-scale surgical theatre used to test the robots.

My thanks to Philipp and his colleagues for so generously sharing their insights and answering all my questions.

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As always, additional commentary and takeaways and the full transcript will be on the Future Bites page soon. More on my work as a Futurist Speaker, and why I do what I do, at www.brucemccabe.com

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Will we worship A.I.? How are religions already rejecting, adopting or adapting to A.I.? How could A.I. re-shape the future of organised religion?

Could the questions get any bigger?

My conversation today is with THE global expert on the AI and religion, Prof Beth Singler. Beth explores adoption, rejection, and adaptation responses from organized religion, gives vivid examples of chatbot “priests” and theomorphic robots already being used in religious rituals, and helps me think much more expansively about the future implications and dangers.

We also discuss the secular world and how utopian dreams and quasi-religious metaphors fuel the pressure to “accelerate” A.I. without bounds.

Beth discusses harmful outcomes she is seeing, and the boundaries and safety considerations we should all keep in mind. We also look at how A.I. can help prick the bubble of human exceptionalism and teach us some much-deeded humility. As you will hear, once you start exploring A.I. and religion, you cannot help but reflect more deeply on how A.I. will impact all aspects of our lives, spiritual and otherwise.

It's a fun conversation (Beth is truly brilliant!) and at the same time deals with serious, high-stakes issues that we all need to be discussing about our (near) future.

Prof Beth Singler has written multiple books and produced a series of documentaries in her long and distinguished career researching AI and religion. She is Assistant Professor in Digital Religion(s) and Co-Director, University Research Priority Programme in Digital Religion(s) at the University of Zurich (UZH). What a joy and privilege it was to learn from her!

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As always, additional commentary and takeaways and the full transcript will be on the Future Bites page soon. More on my work as a Futurist Speaker, and why I do what I do, at www.brucemccabe.com