AI for Infrastructure Resilience

The AI that saves the planet vs. the AI that eats the grid. Guardian Australia has dropped a bombshell: Australian data centre demand is projected to double by 2030, consuming as much as 11% of NSW's grid. As we head into a hot summer, with AEMO warning of grid reliability risks, this isn't just a future problem. It's an immediate resilience crisis. We are in a paradox. We need AI to optimise the grid, map biodiversity and predict floods. But the 𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘪𝘯𝘨 of that AI is threatening the very energy security we're trying to protect. This is why 60 industry leaders gathered at Greenhouse last week to launch the 'Better Data Centres' initiative. They know this isn't a software problem; it's a systems engineering challenge. This is Post 9 in my #ClimateCatalysts series. After mapping 850+ members of Climate Crew's Sydney chapter (CC.SYD), I’ve identified the 16 'Intelligence Architects' who are resolving this paradox. They are building the physical and digital infrastructure to ensure our intelligence doesn't cost the earth. 🏗️ The 𝗜𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 (a.k.a. the 'Builder'): We start with the hardware. Antonia Collings (CEO, Enaxiom) isn't writing code; she's building the physical cooling infrastructure. Her firm's 'HydroCool' tech solves the massive heat and water problem of data centres, turning a liability into a water-positive asset. (Also read about David Soutar, Abdullah kazim & Martin Hamilton in the carousel). 📉 The 𝗠𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗴𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 (a.k.a. the 'Optimiser'): Next, we need efficiency. Afonso Firmo (Co-CEO, NetNada) uses AI to automate carbon accounting, giving companies the visibility they need to squeeze emissions out of their supply chains and operations. (Also read about Simon R., James Crowley & Hayder Fernando Rocha in the carousel). 🛡️ The 𝗔𝗱𝗮𝗽𝘁𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 (a.k.a. the 'Protector'): Then, we apply the intelligence. Alex Shapilsky (Cicada Innovations) connects the deep tech and satellite imagery streams that serve as the eyes of our climate AI models, providing the raw data we need to predict and adapt. (Also read about Stephen Catchpole, Yashada Kulkarni & Nikki Epema in the carousel). ⚖️The 𝗚𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗿𝗻𝗮𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗔𝗿𝗰𝗵𝗶𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁 (a.k.a. the 'Guardian'): Finally, we need trust. Michael Savanis (MLTG Corp) operationalises 'ethical AI', ensuring that as we deploy these powerful models, we have the rigorous oversight and governance frameworks to do so safely. (Also read about Chetan Dwivedi, Alexiane Richard-Bole & Meredith Caldwell in the carousel). The Green Digital Revolution promised at COP30 Brazil is possible. But it won't be delivered by market forces alone. It's being engineered by these 16 leaders. Who's an 'Intelligence Architect' in your network? Tag a catalyst building the smart grid, green IT or adaptation tech. #ClimateTech #DataCenters #GreenIT #AI #ClimateCrew #GreenerTogether Cover photo: Antonia Collings. Image © Robin Wyatt.

For the last two decades, I’ve worked in cybersecurity, protecting critical infrastructure and national security assets. And if there’s one thing I’ve learned, it’s this: The future belongs to those who build innovation on a foundation of trust and security. Yesterday, the European Commission launched InvestAI—a €200 billion initiative designed to position Europe as a global AI leader. But this isn’t just about bigger AI models or faster chips. This is about AI that powers progress, safeguards industries, and strengthens resilience. - Four AI gigafactories across Europe, equipped with 100,000 next-gen AI chips - 4x more powerful than today’s largest AI supercomputers. - A cooperative model, where startups, SMEs, and researchers—not just big tech—get access to supercomputing power to build real-world AI applications. - A focus on mission-critical industries, ensuring AI strengthens cybersecurity, energy grids, financial systems, and national infrastructure. This is a fundamental shift in how AI is being developed and deployed. - AI will predict and prevent cyberattacks before they happen. - AI-driven automation will fortify energy, telecom, and financial networks. - AI-powered decision-making will keep critical industries resilient—even in times of crisis. For the first time, AI isn’t just about intelligence—it’s about trust. This is AI built not just to accelerate innovation, but to protect the systems that society depends on. Because history has shown us: •⁠ ⁠Technology is only as strong as the security that protects it. •⁠ ⁠Infrastructure is only as reliable as the AI models that support it. •⁠ ⁠The future of AI isn’t just about speed—it’s about resilience. The real challenge isn’t just AI adoption—it’s ensuring AI is built to last. That’s my focus: - AI-driven cybersecurity defenses that adapt in real time. - Resilient AI models that can’t be manipulated or exploited. - A future where AI doesn’t just move fast—it moves securely, responsibly, and with purpose. Europe is taking a bold step toward an AI-powered future. Now, it’s up to all of us to make it secure, make it trusted, and make it something we can rely on for generations to come. If you’re working on AI-powered cybersecurity, national infrastructure, or mission-critical applications, let’s connect. Because the future of AI isn’t just about what it can do— It’s about the world we choose to build with it. #Cybersecurity #CriticalInfrastructure

AI is already helping U.S. transit systems run more reliably. Predictive analytics are spotting issues before they disrupt riders, preventing delays that ripple through millions of lives. Reliability is far from abstract; it’s parents home for dinner, healthcare workers arriving on time, and businesses staying on track. For me, that’s 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝘁𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗿𝗱𝘀𝗵𝗶𝗽: 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘁𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗿𝘃𝗲 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗳𝗶𝗿𝘀𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝗿𝗼𝘀𝘀 𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀. While human judgment will remain central to this, 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀 𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘂𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝘀𝗺𝗮𝗿𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗼𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝗳𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿. The challenge now is deciding where to lean in: ➡️𝗣𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴: 𝘶𝘴𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘈𝘐 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘥𝘦𝘭 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘭𝘴 𝘩𝘪𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥. ➡️𝗗𝗲𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆: 𝘰𝘱𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘪𝘻𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘴𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘤𝘰𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘭 𝘵��𝘮𝘦. ➡️𝗢𝗽𝗲𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻𝘀: 𝘬𝘦𝘦𝘱𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘵𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘦𝘳 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘴. Which area do you see creating the most immediate human impact? 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗶𝗻𝗳𝗿𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗿𝘂𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗶𝘀 𝘁𝗿𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗶𝗻 𝗱𝗮𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗹𝗶𝗳𝗲, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁’𝘀 𝗮𝘁 𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮𝘀 𝘄𝗲 𝗯𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗺𝗶𝘅. #AIinEngineering #Infrastructure #Resilience #Stewardship  

#Infrastructure underpins our lives - getting to work, connecting with loved ones, powering our economies, providing drinking water, safely disposing of waste, etc. We are at the beginning of the largest wave of infrastructure investment in human history, with its global economic value projected to increase from $210T today to $390T by 2050. This infrastructure needs to perform in the context of #climatechange, which is increasing the severity and frequency of extreme weather events. Direct damages from natural hazards are projected to cost $460B per annum by 2050, more than doubling today's losses. Increasing infrastructure #resilience is critical, to keep communities safe and reduce these losses. Deloitte's new paper, AI for Infrastructure Resilience, explores how Artificial Intelligence can contribute to these goals. It provides illuminating case studies, detailed economic modelling and guidance for how to make it happen. Our paper finds that using #AI strategically across the infrastructure lifecycle could prevent $70B in annual direct losses in 2050, whilst saving lives and decreasing downtime. https://lnkd.in/gA5cE6Ps David Hill Andrea Culligan Michael Flynn Jennifer Steinmann Bernhard Lorentz Johannes Trüby Behrang Shirizadeh Tayanah O'Donnell Victoria Chantra Biswas, Debashish Raj Kannan Heidi Isreb Rob Parker Rob Scopes Anurag Gupta Abhrajit Ray Sean McClowry Jesse Sherwood Dr Fahim Tonmoy Lorraine Mackin Michael Berkowitz Josh Sawislak Lauren Sorkin Amit Prothi

Water is emerging as a huge issue for the world at the moment. Happily, #AI can play a significant role in new approaches to how water is collected, treated, managed and distributed in our cities. At Arup, we are already using AI to support in the planning, optimisation and protection of water infrastructure. We have worked on masterplan studies that use machine learning to analyse the water needs for different building types, allowing us to optimise the deployment of green (trees, parks, green walls) and blue (ponds, lakes, rivers) infrastructure which store and hold excess water. Our use of AI has also supported clients to develop real time responses to infrastructure stress from stormwater overload, helping to increase resilience during extreme weather events. These applications showcase the transformative potential of AI in strengthening urban water infrastructure. Our Foresight report "AI for Future Cities - Water", produced in conjunction with SWAN - The Smart Water Networks Forum, aims to push the boundaries regarding what is possible with this rapidly evolving technology and explores how we can harness it responsibly to deliver tangible, real world benefits for our cities and communities. Please give it a read at https://lnkd.in/e9kVCx87 and share your thoughts! Hannah Blott MCIM Chiraag Amarnani Josef Hargrave Vikki Williams Dr Mark Fletcher FREng Poya Rasekhi Fiona Cousins Tom Heath Tembi Hommes Rob G. George Harrington Hilde Tonne Jerome Frost Gideon D'Arcangelo Sankar V S David Moran Tom Wilcock Rinke Kluwer Ishani Bechoo MCIM Joan Ko Gill Kernick Catherine Wenger Justin Abbott Joe Shuttleworth #wearearup

𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗥𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗧𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝗮 𝗟𝗲𝗮𝗽 NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and IBM just dropped something extraordinary. An open-source foundation model named 𝗦𝘂𝗿𝘆𝗮, trained on 𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝗮𝗿 𝗱𝗮𝘁𝗮. What it does: 🚩 Reads high-resolution solar imagery (10× bigger than most AI training sets) 🚩 Predicts solar flares up to 2 hours before they hit 🚩 Protects satellites, GPS, aviation, power grids, even astronauts Why it matters: We’ve already seen the damage. A solar storm in 𝗠𝗮𝘆 𝟮𝟬𝟮𝟰 𝗰𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗴𝗿𝗶𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 $𝟱𝟬𝟬𝗠. History reminds us: the Carrington Event (1859), Quebec blackout (1989), and the Halloween storms (2003) all left scars. Now scale that to today’s interconnected world: Lloyd’s projects $𝟮.𝟰𝗧 𝗶𝗻 𝗴𝗹𝗼𝗯𝗮𝗹 𝗹𝗼𝘀𝘀𝗲𝘀 from a severe storm scenario. What’s game-changing here isn’t just the science. It’s the 𝘀𝘁𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗴𝘆: Surya is open-sourced on Hugging Face. That means any researcher, startup, or enterprise can now build on it. From risk hedging to asset protection to mission-critical planning. 𝗔𝗜 𝗶𝘀𝗻’𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝘂𝘁𝗼𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝗳𝗹𝗼𝘄𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲. It’s stepping into the physical sciences - guarding the systems we all depend on. The frontier is no longer “AI for business.” It’s 𝗔𝗜 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲. 💡 Do you see enterprises jumping in to customize models like Surya for their industries or will it stay in the hands of researchers for now? #AI #AgenticAI #NASA #SpaceWeather #OpenSourceAI #Resilience #Strategy