In this episode of the ESG Insider podcast, we explore the role artificial intelligence can play in advancing sustainability outcomes — and how the energy demands from generative AI programs could change over time.

We talk with Hussein Shel, Chief Technologist and Head of Upstream Digital Transformation, Energy and Utility at Amazon Web Services (AWS), a cloud-computing and technology services company and a subsidiary of Amazon.

AI has been a major focus at sustainability events throughout 2024 and will be a topic at the UN’s COP29 climate change conference in Baku, Azerbaijan, which begins Nov. 11.

In the interview, Hussein explains how AWS is leveraging AI, machine learning and more efficient computing hardware to address sustainability challenges, particularly in optimizing energy usage and integrating renewables onto the grid.

"Most of these models are getting more and more optimized,” Hussein says. “They're becoming more and more intelligent ... reducing potentially the consumption of energy needed to retrain."

This interview took place on the sidelines of The Nest Climate Campus, where ESG Insider was an official podcast during Climate Week NYC.

Listen to our interview with the head of the Electric Power Research Institute on how AI is driving up electricity demand: https://www.spglobal.com/esg/podcasts/ceraweek-how-energy-transition-discussions-are-shifting

This piece was published by S&P Global Sustainable1, a part of S&P Global.

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How AWS sees the AI landscape for sustainability evolving