CleanAI Initiative

CleanAI Initiative - such an important initiative co-founded by my friend/mentor Nicholas Parker and Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng.. How can we make AI good for people, community and planet? Was honoured to be a panellist at this event last week and to meet some very interesting people including Jean-Simon Venne Julia Langer Anna Vartanyan Alisha Jani Yasmin Glanville Jason MacFarlane Saadia Esat Anshul Porwal Karin Henriksson Samo Čebular Helena (Qiaoshan) Yu #AI #regenerate

I am thrilled to have participated in the inaugural CleanAI Initiative Summit in Toronto! Our panel discussion on Scaling CleanAI Globally featured insightful contributions from Karin Henriksson from Greencode Ventures, Djoann Fal of 🌏 The Atlas Capital & Climate Tech Coalition, and our moderator Clean AI founder Nicholas Parker. We had the opportunity to explore the dynamic intersection of cleantech and artificial intelligence, a sector that has seen remarkable growth with nearly $30 billion in investments since 2018. With Canada ranking third globally in CleanAI innovation, we explored how we can scale these initiatives worldwide and cultivate the ecosystem essential for this transformative shift. CleanAI has the potential to reduce global emissions by up to 10% by 2030 and together we can drive the change needed for a greener, more sustainable future. Thanks to everyone for a successful event and I look forward to seeing the future export impact from today’s conversations as we continue to support and seek further opportunities in these two rapidly growing fields. ***** Je suis ravi d'avoir participé au sommet inaugural de l'initiative Clean AI à Toronto ! Notre table ronde sur la mise à l'échelle de CleanAI au niveau mondial a été marquée par les contributions approfondies de Karin Henriksson de @Greencode Ventures, de Djoann Fall de The Atlas Capital & Climate Tech Coalition, et de notre modérateur, le fondateur de CleanAI, Nicholas Parker. Nous avons eu l’occasion d’explorer le croisement dynamique des technologies propres et de l’intelligence artificielle (IA), un secteur qui a connu une croissance remarquable avec près de 30 milliards de dollars d’investissements depuis 2018. Alors que le Canada se classant au troisième rang mondial en matière d’innovation CleanAI, nous avons exploré comment nous pouvons faire évoluer ces initiatives à l'échelle mondiale et cultiver l'écosystème essentiel pour ce changement transformateur. CleanAI a le potentiel de réduire les émissions mondiales jusqu’à 10% d’ici 2030 et, ensemble, nous pouvons conduire le changement nécessaire pour un avenir plus vert et plus durable. Merci à tous pour cet événement réussi, j’ai hâte de voir les répercussions positive des conversations sur les exportations futures, alors que nous continuons à soutenir et à rechercher d’autres opportunités dans ces deux secteurs à forte croissance.

Between Stephan Cizmar Laura Zizzo Josef Zankowicz and me, we could’ve chatted all day. We discussed data quality and security, AI capabilities, what needs to change / what constraints to work around in traditional industrial sectors, the massive untapped opportunity that we’re only just beginning to explore with AI and its potential to decarbonize traditional sectors. We didn’t shy away from talking about the ugly bits either - cybersecurity issues, labor strikes, and other headwinds to navigate. Thank you Nicholas Parker and Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng. and the whole CleanAI Initiative team for organizing such an amazing inaugural event. Can’t wait to continue these conversations and see what’s next. #cleanai #decarbonization #energytransition #sustainability

Last Friday, we hosted the inaugural CleanAI Summit in Toronto — a groundbreaking gathering of over 150 leaders from 11 countries! We opened the day with Rhode Thomas grounding us in his teachings from Six Nations. Anthony DeOrsey then grounded us in the data, highlighting the growth opportunity of narrow, industry-focused AI. We had keynotes from Tom Chi highlighting how cleanAI can be used as an innovation catalyst, the iconic Jeremy Rifkin sharing a bigger vision on how adapting to a changing climate can also enable more resilient and empowered communities, and Jim Harris, on how decarbonizing our transportation systems will transform how we live. Sedef Akinli Kocak, dug into how we must balance the energy usage of AI with the decarbonization that is possible. We talked about AI modelling and chip efficiency, how Dipul Patel is building data centres with no water, as well as the decarbonization being led by startups enabled by Lisbeth Kaufman’s programming and in Peter Sun’s portfolio. Shivani Chotalia, and Vaughn Blake highlighted how cleanAI can enable exponential change rather than incremental improvements in our energy systems, and how utility leaders like Chris Hudson are using copilot systems like Josh Wong has built at ThinkLabs and Patrick Lo is enabling at Microsoft. Anamika Mukherjee, and Stephan Cizmar shared insights on how cleanAI can both decarbonize our industries while enhancing performance, and Laura Zizzo and Josef Zankowicz dug into the business models needed to enable success in this space. Elissa Strome showcased how Jessica Pinheiro is building cleanAI to model climate risks and explored implications for both vulnerable communities and the insurance industry. David H. (XPV Water Partners) shared how cleanAI can be used in our water systems, and Tobi Mueller-Glodde, in our agriculture and food systems. Jean-Simon Venne shared how Brainbox is applying cleanAI to dramatically reduce carbon emissions from buildings, and Julia Langer shared the challenges in decarbonizing our cities. Anna Vartanyan and Pooran Desai pushed us to think bigger about how we can use cleanAI as a tool to bring about interconnectedness in our communities. Nicholas Parker, Djoann Fal, Karin Henriksson and Guillermo Freire showed us how we can think globally to build connective tissue across borders and facilitate the scaling of cleanAI solutions around the world. And throughout the day we heard from leading cleanAI innovators including RaptorMaps, Novamera, erthos, Xatmos, RWI Synthetics, GeologicAI, Neupeak and more. Thanks to our sponsors Export Development Canada | Exportation et développement Canada, MaRS Discovery District, BDC, City of Toronto, Alectra, Fasken, Corporate Knights, Cleantech Group and Radical Ventures, and all those that made this day possible. We have launched an inspiring community of leaders in cleanAI. This is just the beginning – we’re looking forward to much more to come!

Just coming down the other side of the mountain from a very successful CleanAI Summit last Friday. This jam-packed inaugural gathering brought together 160 leaders from 11 countries and 4 continents. We had over $6 billion of "dry powder" in the room available to fund growing cleanAI ventures, alongside 2 dozen of such ventures, both startups and scaleups, and participation from industry leaders such as AWS, Alectra, BASF. BMO, Microsoft, Google, Intact, Meta, OMERS, OPG, OTPP and Telus. Complementing this wonderful group were AI researchers, policymakers and service providers. Thanks to our advisors, partners, sponsors and leadership circle members for helping us launch the CleanAI Initiative. We're only just getting going! Special thanks to my brilliant partner Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng. Shout outs to Richard YoungmanTodd AllmendingerAnthony DeOrsey Jr. Deval Pandya Rhode ThomasTyler HamiltonAlison NankivellSusan Viegas Neetika SatheJulia ZhuGeri Yin David Henderson Vaughn Blake Tom Chi Mark S. Jeff KeatsGuillermo Freire Djoann Fal Davida Herzl Afnan Hannan Daniel Mulet Vishnu Narahari Amy Francetic Stephan Cizmar Karin Henriksson Jim Harris, Bestselling Author, Global Keynoter Steve 승준 Joneslee (né Lee) Elissa Strome Annette Verschuren and all others I've unintentionally omitted here.

MaRS CEO Alison Nankivell welcomes industry leaders to MaRS for the first global summit dedicated to cleanAI hosted by the CleanAI Initiative. Thank you Rhode Thomas, Executive Director, The Centre for Indigenous Innovation and Technology, for sharing the Six Nations Thanksgiving address and to Anthony DeOrsey Jr. of the Cleantech Group for setting the stage with cleanAI trends.

With the rapid acceleration and excitement surrounding current and emerging innovations, there is a risk of losing sight of both their larger and more subtle impacts. I'm delighted to share my community’s methods for opening dialogue in a good way, ensuring these conversations remain grounded in a good mind, guided by principles of relationality & responsibility.

Last week, I had the privilege to support and attend the inaugural CleanAI Summit at the MaRS Discovery District. Wow, I was blown away by all the energy in the room (puns intended)! Congratulations to Nicholas Parker and Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng. for bringing together thought leaders, climate tech investors, policy makers, and innovators from around the world into one room. One big discussion topic was on the work ahead to ensure #CleanAI is net climate positive and will act as a force multiplier for decarbonizing our industries and strengthening climate resiliency. This multiplying effect is critical to address the urgency of our climate crisis. I look forward to taking the insights learned and applying it back to my current Climatebase fellowship and capstone projects. As always, happy to connect to chat #ClimateTech!

#CleanTech has entered a new chapter with #CleanAI CleanAI Initiative, under the legendary leadership of Nicholas Parker and Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng.! An honor to speak on stage with Patrick Lo Chris Hudson and Vaughn Blake at the inaugural CleanAI Summit on #AI revolutionizing energy utilities. AI will be the primary driving force behind process and grid automation, as we enter a world of grid complexity, uncertainty, and skills shortages. #AgenticAI #Copilots that understand grid power flow and utility processes are the catalysts we need for large scale acceleration of grid transformation. Let's go!

The CleanAI Summit was a huge success today in Toronto. It was a pleasure to contribute to the event under the topic of Intelligent Communities. Thanks to Nicholas Parker and Shivani Chotalia, P.Eng. for an impeccable organization. BrainBox AI is proud to support of the CleanAI Initiative and push the discussion forward so we can scale up the technologies that will make a difference.