Noa Catharina

The age of advanced computing demands a critical shift in focus: not on what AI can do, but on how it is fundamentally built and the values embedded in its foundation. As AI systems scale exponentially, the infrastructure supporting them consumes unprecedented energy and resources, yet this reality remains invisible to most decision makers.

This talk reveals the hidden ecological and geopolitical costs of AI infrastructure and presents a framework for building high performance systems that don't compromise planetary responsibility. Drawing from real world data center deployments across Europe and the U.S., this session demonstrates how intentional design choices in cooling technologies, power efficiency, and infrastructure planning can transform environmental impact without sacrificing performance.

Attendee Results:

• Understand the true resource requirements of AI systems and their global implications
• Learn practical strategies for sustainable infrastructure deployment
• Discover how environmental responsibility can coexist with technical excellence
• Gain frameworks for evaluating infrastructure decisions through accountability and sovereignty lenses
• Explore the intersection of technology, geopolitics, and sustainability in the AI era