AI isn't just about building smarter machines. It's about building a greener world.
From optimizing energy use to reducing emissions, AI and accelerated computing are helping industries tackle some of the world's toughest environmental challenges.
As Joshua Parker, senior director of corporate sustainability at NVIDIA, explains in the latest episode of NVIDIA's AI Podcast, these technologies are powering a new era of energy efficiency.
Parker, a seasoned sustainability professional with a background in law and engineering, has led sustainability initiatives at major companies like Western Digital, where he developed corporate sustainability strategies. His expertise spans corporate sustainability, intellectual property and environmental impact.
The AI Podcast NVIDIA's Josh Parker on How AI and Accelerated Computing Drive Sustainability Ep. 233
AI can, in fact, help reduce energy consumption. And it's doing it in some surprising ways.
AI systems themselves use energy, of course, but the big story is how AI and accelerated computing are helping other systems save energy. Take data centers, for instance.
They're the backbone of AI, housing the powerful systems that crunch the data needed for AI to work in services like chatbots, AI-powered search and content generation. Globally, data centers account for about 2% of total energy consumption, and AI-specific centers represent only a tiny fraction of that.
AI still accounts for a tiny, tiny fraction of overall energy consumption globally, Parker said. Yet, the potential for AI to optimize energy use is vast.
Despite this, AI's real superpower lies in its ability to optimize.
How? By using accelerated computing platforms that combine GPUs and CPUs. GPUs are designed to handle complex computations quickly and efficiently.
In fact, these systems can be up to 20x more energy-efficient than traditional CPU-only systems for AI inference and training, Parker notes.
This progress has contributed to massive gains in energy efficiency over the past eight years, which is part of the reason AI is now able to tackle increasingly complex problems.
What Is Accelerated Computing? At its core, accelerated computing is about doing more with less.
It involves using specialized hardware - like GPUs - to perform tasks faster and with less energy.
This isn't just theoretical. The change in efficiency is really, really dramatic, Parker emphasized.
If you compare the energy efficiency for AI inference from eight years ago until today, [it's] 45,000 times more energy efficient, Parker said.
This matters because as AI becomes more widespread, the demand for computing power grows.
Accelerated computing helps companies scale their AI operations without consuming massive amounts of energy.
This energy efficiency is key to AI's ability to tackle some of today's biggest sustainability challenges.
AI in Action: Tackling Climate Change AI isn't just saving energy - it's helping to fight climate change.
AI and accelerated computing in general are game-changers when it comes to weather and climate modeling and simulation, Parker said.
For instance, AI-enhanced weather forecasting is becoming more accurate, allowing industries and governments to prepare for climate-related events like hurricanes or floods, Parker explained.
The better we can predict these events, the better we can prepare for them, which means fewer resources wasted and less damage done.
Another key area is the rise of digital twins - virtual models of physical environments.
These AI-powered simulations allow companies to optimize energy consumption in real time, without having to make costly changes in the physical world. In one case, using a digital twin helped a company achieve a 10% reduction in energy use, Parker said.
That may sound small, but scale it across industries, and the impact is huge.
AI is also playing a crucial role in developing new materials for renewable energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicles, helping accelerate the transition to clean energy.
Can AI Make Data Centers More Sustainable? AI needs data centers to operate, and, as AI grows, so does the demand for computing power. But data centers don't have to be energy hogs. In fact, they can be part of the sustainability solution.
One major innovation is direct-to-chip liquid cooling. This technology allows data centers to cool their systems much more efficiently than traditional air conditioning methods, which are often energy-intensive.
Our recommended design for the data centers for our new B200 chip is focused all on direct-to-chip liquid cooling, Parker explained. By cooling directly at the chip level, this method saves energy, helping data centers stay cool without guzzling power.
As AI scales up, the future of data centers will depend on designing for energy efficiency from the ground up.
That means integrating renewable energy, using energy storage solutions and continuing to innovate with cooling technologies.
The goal is to create green data centers that can meet the world's growing demand for compute power without increasing their carbon footprint.
The compute density is so high that it makes more sense to invest in the cooling because you're getting so much more compute for that same single direct-to-chip cooling element, Parker said.
The Role of AI in Building a Sustainable Future AI is not just a tool for optimizing systems - it's a driver of sustainable innovation.
From improving the efficiency of energy grids to enhancing supply chain logistics, AI is leading the charge in reducing waste and emissions.
AI, I firmly believe, is going to be the best tool that we've ever seen to help us achieve more sustainability and more sustainable outcomes, Parker said.
The AI Podcast NVIDIA&
Most recent headlines
05/01/2027
Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...
13/11/2026
The UIM E1 Series wraps its third season this week with the Bombay Sapphire E1 Miami GP, Nov. 11-14, on Biscayne Bay at the Miami Seaplane Base on Watson Island...
13/11/2026
In-venue and creative video staffers at the professional and collegiate level ha...
13/11/2026
Singer-songwriter Benson Boone will headline entertainment for the Discover NHL Winter Classic between the Utah Mammoth and Colorado Avalanche at Rice-Eccles St...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design has announced the Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone, a 7th order ambisonic microphone array that captures spatial audio for immersive video prod...
13/11/2026
SMPTE has announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infrastructure and communications technology for the Solutions Hub at t...
13/11/2026
The Hollywood Professional Association (HPA) has announced the theme and program focus for the 2027 HPA Tech Retreat, which takes place Feb. 14-18, 2027, in La ...
13/11/2026
Football Manager 27 Touch is available on Apple Arcade starting today. The game ...
13/11/2026
MotoGP has announced a two-year media rights agreement with ESPN covering the Un...
13/11/2026
Apple Sports, the free iPhone app, has added the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) to its lineup of supported sports, in time for Saturday's UFC 334. The...
13/11/2026
The NBA and Fanatics Studios, the joint venture between Fanatics and entertainme...
13/11/2026
ESPN held its annual EDGE Innovation Conference last night and offered up an ove...
13/11/2026
Regional sports network gives Ithaca College, SUNY Cortland students a platform to thrive
One of the biggest games in Division III college football will be pla...
13/11/2026
Studer-inspired 500-series PWM compressor unveiled
The HLabs range already includes a couple of Studer-inspired offerings in the form of the PRE169 and EQ16...
13/11/2026
Download Now!
To view the white paper, please enter the following details:
--
First Name* First Name
Company*
Country* Please select your countryA...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Blue Lucy, the workflow orchestration and integration platform for broadcasters, rights owners and localisation companies, today announced an integration with c...
13/11/2026
Krotos announces Black Friday offers on Studio Pro and Studio Max
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
First-year annual plans start at US$195.99...
13/11/2026
Blackmagic Design Announces Blackmagic Ambisonic Microphone
Brie Clayton November 12, 2026
0 Comments
New 7th order ambisonic microphone with 108 MEMS...
13/11/2026
Meet the Berklee Student Setting Planetary Motion to Music With his compositional platform SoniKosmos, Javier Roqueni aims to make the universe the ultimate i...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , er...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Share
{alert(Link copied)}).catch(err => {console.error(Failed to copy: , err)}) data-platform=copy_link data-action= class=font-ui-heading py-2 text-sm tex...
13/11/2026
Amagi, the media industry cloud company, today announced a partnership with Golden Times Media Technology (stock code 920021.BJ), a Beijing-based media and tech...
13/11/2026
CGI (TSX: GIB.A) (NYSE: GIB), one of the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world, together with its Malaysian partner, Cedar ...
13/11/2026
SMPTE, the home for media professionals, technologists and engineers, today announced that The Studio B&H and Riedel Communications will provide the video infra...
13/11/2026
iWedia, a global leader in connected TV software solutions, will present its software-first approach to DRAM optimization at Android TV APAC Summit 2026 in Bang...
13/11/2026
Beginning today, November 13, Apple HomeView is available for purchase at Apple Store locations, on the Apple Store online, and in the Apple Store app in select...
13/11/2026
From pediatric research to smart hospitals, AI is helping care teams spend less time on routine tasks and more time with patients.
Health systems and startups...
12/11/2026
Industry leaders examine how Dynamic Media Facility, Media eXchange Layer, and c...
12/11/2026
The junior Tar Heel is embracing the technical and creative challenges of live production while emerging as a leader and mentor in the control room...
12/11/2026
Gracenote, Nielsen's content intelligence business, has released its fifth a...
12/11/2026
RTL Deutschland will bring the NHL to free-to-air TV in Germany starting Nov. 30...
12/11/2026
Clear-Com supported On Air 2026, a 24-hour student-led broadcast connecting 45 u...
12/11/2026
uniqFEED has opened a Remote Operations Center (ROC) in Madrid, Spain. It is already operational, delivering virtual advertising for LaLiga matches. The ROC is ...
12/11/2026
Disney, ESPN and the NBA will present Dunk the Halls, the third real-time animated NBA game using Sony's Beyond Sports data visualization technology, on Chr...
12/11/2026
Van Wagner has launched Van Wagner RELAY, a digital platform for official athlet...
12/11/2026
Deal brings together two of the industry's most established graphics brands and significantly expands Vizrt's footprint in U.S. sports and regional broa...
12/11/2026
Euro TV Production GmbH of Austria has upgraded its outside broadcast vehicle with Lawo technology. The mc 36 Classic console in service since 2019 was replaced...
12/11/2026
Tagboard has launched Spark Resize, an AI-assisted tool now in beta that takes an existing graphic and produces a new version for a different aspect ratio or sc...
AI isn't just about building smarter machines. It's about building a greener world.
