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AI for all: Leave no one behind, says Microsoft's Brad Smith
Artificial intelligence could level the playing field for individuals across an array of disciplines...if people have access to it. Microsoft’s Vice Chair and President Brad Smith, points out that access to AI tech remains a privilege that is still unavailable to hundreds of millions around the world.
Speaking in a GZERO Global Stage discussion from the 2024 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Microsoft Vice Chair and President Brad Smith points out that while the conversation about AI seems advanced in Davos, a lot of people in the Global South don't yet have access to AI, let alone basic needs like electricity, access to electronic devices, and internet connectivity.
“In a sense, we do the Global South a tremendous disservice if we talk about AI all the time as the next thing,” he said. First, "close the electricity divide, the broadband connectivity divide, the device divide, and then you can close the AI divide on top of it."
The conversation was part of the Global Stage series, produced by GZERO in partnership with Microsoft. These discussions convene heads of state, business leaders, technology experts from around the world for critical debate about the geopolitical and technology trends shaping our world.
Watch the full conversation here: How is the world tackling AI, Davos' hottest topic?
The Graphic Truth: Natural gas prices make EU power costs soar
EU natural gas prices have gone through the roof since Russia invaded Ukraine and cut off gas flows. This has sent European electric bills soaring — to the point that Brussels is ready to intervene in energy markets to protect consumers.
Some of the ideas being thrown around are a cap on the price of Russian gas to deter President Vladimir Putin from messing with the Nord Stream 1 pipeline as pushback for sanctions; a ceiling on the price of all gas used to produce electricity; a windfall tax on all energy firms to pay for consumer subsidies; and a limit on what non-gas producers can earn beyond a market price of 200 euros per MWh.
These measures aim to curb power prices and boost gas supplies before the winter, when Europeans will need more power to heat their homes. But will they be enough to fix the bloc's energy crunch before angry, cold EU residents start blaming their governments?
We compare two benchmarks for the bloc — German spot electricity prices and Dutch gas futures — over the past year.
French firm to build one of the world's biggest batteries in Australia
MELBOURNE (REUTERS) - France's Neoen SA has won a contract to help stabilise the power grid in the Australian state of Victoria, supporting Neoen's plan to build the country's biggest battery, due to be switched on by the end of 2021.
Cheap solar panels power consumer appliance boom in North Korea
SEOUL (REUTERS) - Years after they first appeared in North Korea, increasingly cheap and available solar panels are giving a boost to consumer consumption and industry as Pyongyang tries to limit the impact of tough international sanctions.
Asia's mega-cities need clean energy drive to cope with environmental threats
SINGAPORE (REUTERS) - Avoiding threats from climate change and pollution will require Asia's booming cities to become much more efficient in their use of energy resources, delegates at a city development conference said on Thursday (March 28).
Sri Lanka seeks divine help to end power crisis
COLOMBO (AFP) - Sri Lanka's state energy provider sought divine intervention on Thursday (March 28) to break a crippling power shortage, dispatching envoys to the country's north to offer holy water to a tree sacred to Buddhists.