Digital Innovation for the Sustainability Transition amid Global Competition | DfP Fireside Chat

How can societies harness AI and digital innovation to accelerate sustainability while navigating growing geopolitical competition and security concerns? In this recent Data for Policy Fireside Chat, Prof Masaru Yarime explores the complex relationship between digital technologies, sustainability transitions, competitiveness, and global governance. Drawing on recent research, he examines how AI and cloud computing can support climate action, improve resource management, and strengthen resilience, while also creating new challenges related to energy consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, data governance, and international cooperation. The discussion highlights: • AI applications for climate change mitigation and adaptation • The growing energy and environmental footprint of data centres and cloud computing • Data governance challenges for sustainability transitions • Policy responses to balancing digital infrastructure growth with environmental goals • Consumption-based approaches to measuring digital emissions • The role of regional and international cooperation in managing digital infrastructure • Research collaboration, innovation, and global competitiveness • Geopolitical tensions, security concerns, and the future of AI governance • The need for agile, adaptive policymaking in an era of rapid technological change The session also features a lively audience discussion on sustainable data infrastructure, AI governance, regulatory implementation challenges, international cooperation, and the societal externalities of AI. Learn more: https://dataforpolicy.org/fireside-ch... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 00:00 - Intro 00:04 - Session Introduction by Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes 01:55 - Presentation by Prof Masaru Yarime 35:53 - Reflections by Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes 37:16 - Answer by Prof Masaru Yarime 39:35 - Q2 by Dr Zeynep Engin 40:02 - A2 42:30 - Q3 by Dr Anna Cupani 43:57 - A3 45:58 - Q4 47:43 - A4 52:03 - Q5 52:54 - A5 54:55 - Session End --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Featured Speaker Masaru Yarime is an Associate Professor at the Division of Public Policy and the Division of Environment and Sustainability and the Co-Director of the AI Ethics and Governance Lab at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. He has appointments as an Honorary Associate Professor in the Department of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Public Policy at University College London and a Visiting Associate Professor in the Graduate School of Environmental Studies at Tohoku University. Alongside Data & Policy, he also serves on the editorial boards of journals, including Sustainability Science, Environmental Science and Policy, and Frontiers in Sustainable Cities (Innovation and Governance). He received a B.Eng. and an M.S. in Chemical Engineering from the University of Tokyo and the California Institute of Technology, respectively, and a Ph.D. in Economics and Policy Studies of Innovation and Technological Change from Maastricht University in the Netherlands. Session Chair Dr Claudia Abreu Lopes is a Research Lead at the United Nations University’s Global Health Institute. Her work sits at the intersection of global health governance, digital health, and gender equality, with a focus on low- and middle-income countries. She brings over two decades of academic and applied research experience, having held positions at the University of Coimbra, the London School of Economics and Political Science, and the University of Cambridge (POLIS). She has also worked in the non-profit and innovation sectors, including roles at Girl Effect and Africa’s Voices Foundation, leading projects that leverage digital data to design and evaluate public health and social development interventions. She holds a PhD in Social Research Methods from the London School of Economics and Political Science. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🔔 Subscribe to our channel    / @dataforpolicy   for more expert discussions on AI policy, governance, and technology regulation. Follow Data for Policy here: https://dataforpolicy.org/ Linkedin:   / data-for-policy   https://x.com/dataforpolicy Sign up for Pulse: Data for Policy Monthly Newsletter: https://dataforpolicy.org/subscribe-f... --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- #AIGovernance #Sustainability #ClimateChange #DataforPolicy #DigitalInnovation #DataCentres #CloudComputing #ResponsibleAI #AIEthics #PublicPolicy #DataGovernance #ClimateTech #InnovationPolicy #SustainableDevelopment #GlobalGovernance #HKUST #ArtificialIntelligence #TechnologyPolicy #DigitalTransformation #FiresideChat