PARIS,7th December, 2024 (WAM) – Leading figures from governments, the energy sector, the tech industry and civil society gathered this week for the first major international meeting of its kind addressing the deepening links between energy and artificial intelligence (AI) as the technology rapidly develops and uptake soars.
The IEA’s Global Conference on Energy & AI featured a high-level roundtable focused on building strategic understanding on energy and AI topics and a technical forum for experts. The two-day event brought about 500 participants to the Agency’s headquarters in Paris to discuss how to securely and sustainably meet AI’s energy needs, as well as how the technology could be used to optimise energy systems and speed up the pace of energy innovation. The rise of AI is quickly emerging as one of the most important energy trends today. AI is already helping to accelerate the discovery of new energy materials and technologies, and it can be utilised to improve how energy is produced, consumed and distributed.
“Understanding the AI revolution is critical to understanding the future of energy,” IEA Executive Director Fatih Birol said. “The IEA, which has long been at the forefront of analysing the links between digitalisation and energy, is uniquely placed to ensure that the significant opportunities that AI offers are fully grasped while associated risks and challenges are addressed.”
“We will do this starting with a special report on energy and AI that we will publish in the spring of 2025,” he added.