The week of IO+: From intern to ceo, AI and a tree lover

AI is booming and guzzles energy, so we need more of both

AI is booming. That much is clear. Data centers are needed to facilitate artificial intelligence. The Netherlands has about 200 data centers, but that's not nearly enough, warns Stijn Grove of the Dutch Data Center Association. The European Commission's action plans for “Europe's leadership in AI” are otherwise not feasible. Nice plans, but there must be room on the network.”

According to the latest estimates by the International Energy Agency (IEA), global electricity demand from data centers will double to 945 TWh by 2030, more than Japan's total electricity consumption. AI guzzles electricity, but it can also help us use less of it. Last week, Mauro dove into the IEA's report for Behind the Numbers.

More data centers needed to satisfy our hunger for AI

The ideas are there, but we really need to get moving, says Stijn Grove, Managing Director at the Dutch Data Center Association

AI is hungry for electricity, but can help us use less of it

AI developments are driving global electricity demand. Nevertheless, AI can assist in reducing energy usage.

From intern to ceo

His professional career seemed mapped out. After graduating from law school at Leiden University, Yousef Yousef was to set up a law firm with his brothers. However, as an intern at LG Sonic, a water treatment company, he was tasked with restructuring the business plan.

14 years later, LG Sonic is a high-tech company, and Yousef is its CEO. The scale-up develops devices that emit ultrasonic sound waves, with frequencies above human hearing thresholds, to control algae growth. Mauro Mereu interviewed him for our series Green Transition Drivers.

From intern to CEO: Yousef Yousef’s journey leading LG Sonic

Yousef Yousef is the CEO of LG Sonic, a company he took over from an internship, which has since become a world leader in water treatment.

A column of a tree lover

Tropical rainforests, the dark pine forests of Scandinavia - just the thought of a group of trees together makes our editor Elcke happy. She loves nature, and since she traded Berlin for a village in Gelderland, she can be found in the woods daily. In the column series “What the world would be like, if...” she explores this week's scenario of what would happen to the world if every earthling planted one tree.

This is what happens when every person plants a tree

In the column series “What the world would look like if...”, Elcke Vels explores intriguing scenarios that deviate from the status quo.

And there was this:

Don't want to miss a thing? An overview of all our articles can be found here. Happy Sunday!

Aafke Eppinga, editor-in-chief at IO+