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75% of Industry Leaders See Responsible AI as Key to Better Decision-Making – Primus Partners Report

Mumbai, 05 August 2024: Primus Partners today released an influential report titled ‘Responsible by Design: Industry’s Perspective on India’s AI Framework’, presenting a detailed study of the responsible and ethical AI ecosystem in India from the industry lens. The report advocates ethical, transparent, and accountable AI practices while outlining possible enforcement mechanisms for AI regulations in India.

The report offers an in-depth analysis of India’s current AI landscape and focuses on critical aspects of responsible AI development and governance. The study comes at a crucial time as India positions itself at the forefront of global AI innovation while addressing the ethical challenges posed by rapid technological advancement.

Devroop Dhar, Co-Founder and Managing Director, Primus Partners, stressed the importance of responsible AI development: “India’s current AI landscape reflects a segment full of opportunities. As we journey towards becoming a trillion-dollar digital economy, we must adopt a balanced approach to AI governance. This involves leveraging AI for its economic benefits while ensuring robust regulatory frameworks that can prevent or curb risks such as deepfakes by promoting ethical standards. As AI’s influence is driving significant advancements and efficiencies across diverse industries worldwide, responsible use of AI should be a shared global priority.”

Based on insights from industry leaders and domain experts across India, the report stresses the potential for AI to contribute up to 10% to India’s GDP by 2025 if governed responsibly. It highlights the challenges of data quality and availability (which include data scarcity, biases in datasets, and the complexities of data preparation and cleaning), noting that 76% of the industry views these as their top concerns in AI deployment. It also emphasizes that 61% of the industry prioritizes privacy and security, including threats posed by deepfakes, as a crucial principle-based element in safe AI deployment.

Other key findings from the report include:

• 53% of respondents believe that AI systems should be designed to be transparent and explainable to ensure trust and accountability
• Over 78% emphasize the need for ongoing skill development and training to keep pace with AI advancements
• 51% of surveyed industry leaders prefer a hybrid regulatory approach combining traditional frameworks with adaptive guidelines
• 47.3% believe that over-regulation and over-compliance if put in place, can become a deterrent to AI’s growth
• 67.6% of the industry believes that more PPP engagements are required in critical sectors such as health and education
• 78% of the industry views that accelerating the Ethical AI Ecosystem in India necessitates operational requisites like continuous skill development and training and Structural Realignment in core AI organizations
• 89% of the industry believes that specific regulations are essential to ensure ethical practices, accountability, and transparency in AI development and deployment

The report encompasses strategic actionable recommendations for establishing a robust framework that supports innovation while addressing the ethical challenges posed by AI. It calls for a collaborative approach between the government and the private sector to develop standards and practices that ensure AI benefits all segments of society. Additionally, the report underscores the importance of continuous learning, capacity building, voluntary product iterations and responsible adoption, and educating consumers or end-users in shaping an AI landscape that is both innovative and responsible.

InfoVision Partners with iDocsWeb to Launch ‘Doctors Anytime’

Bengaluru, August 05th, 2024, InfoVision, a global leader in digital transformation solutions, is pleased to announce a strategic partnership with iDocsWeb, a premier telemedicine company, to launch “Doctors Anytime.” This innovative initiative aims to provide provider services such as overnight coverage and Specialist Clinics to regional hospitals and LTACHs across the United States.

Building on our existing collaboration, InfoVision’s advanced technology and Salesforce expertise will enhance iDocsWeb’s extensive telemedicine capabilities. Together, we aim to improve the accessibility, efficiency, and overall experience of telehealth services for patients and healthcare providers alike.

Doctors Anytime will revolutionize healthcare access for rural and underserved communities by offering 24/7 availability of medical professionals. This platform will ensure timely and effective care without the constraints of traditional healthcare systems. With seamless integration of medical consultations, follow-ups, and health management tools, Doctors Anytime meets the growing demand for convenient and comprehensive healthcare solutions.

“We are thrilled to expand our partnership with iDocsWeb and support the launch of Doctors Anytime,” said Sean Yalamanchi, Founder & President of InfoVision. “Leveraging advanced technology, we are driving digital transformation to reach rural and underserved communities. Our collaboration will set a new standard for healthcare delivery, ensuring innovative and equitable access to quality care.”

Dr. Suresh Nellore, CEO of iDocsWeb and practicing Infectious Disease specialist, expressed, “This initiative represents a significant step forward in our mission to make healthcare more accessible and efficient for everyone. By leveraging InfoVision’s technological prowess, we are confident in our ability to deliver a superior telemedicine experience to our users.”

InfoVision’s expertise in technology development and implementation will be crucial to the success of Doctors Anytime. Our Salesforce solutions will enable robust, scalable, and secure telehealth services, ensuring patients can connect with healthcare providers effortlessly.

Launching this year, Doctors Anytime is a testament to the commitment of both InfoVision and iDocsWeb to continuous improvement and innovation in the telehealth space. This partnership underscores our shared dedication to driving positive change in the healthcare industry through technological advancements and strategic collaboration.

NIIT Ltd. Appoints Anshumaan Prasad as Head of Marketing

New Delhi, 5, August 2024 – NIIT Ltd., a leading skills and talent development corporation announced the appointment of Mr. Anshumaan Prasad as its new Head of Marketing. In his role, Anshumaan will lead NIIT Limited’s marketing strategy and initiatives, driving growth and enhancing the brand’s presence in the industry.

Anshumaan comes with more than 13 years of experience across FMCG, FMCD, and Tech sectors, having worked with organizations such as HUL and Amazon. During his stints, he has displayed proven expertise in helping navigate businesses through various growth stages, managing resource constraints, and propelling market-leading brands. Throughout his career, Anshumaan has demonstrated a keen ability to develop and execute successful marketing campaigns, build strong brands, and lead high-performing teams.

Commenting on the appointment, Mr. Pankaj Jathar, Chief Executive Officer, NIIT Ltd., stated, “We are thrilled to welcome Anshumaan to the NIIT family. His exceptional track record in driving transformative marketing strategies, combined with his strategic acumen, positions him perfectly to lead NIIT’s growth initiatives.”

Anshumaan has a rich and diverse background, holding a dual degree from IIT Kharagpur and an MBA from IIM Bangalore. Before joining NIIT, he was a Senior Brand Manager at Amazon India where he led the mass-marketing initiatives for Amazon Prime membership and Amazon Specials, driving substantial business growth over three years.

While expressing his enthusiasm about joining NIIT, Anshumaan Prasad said, “I am honored to join NIIT as the Head of Marketing. I look forward to collaborating with the team to harness the latest trends in marketing and technology to not only strengthen brand’s market position but also drive NIIT towards even greater success in the dynamic landscape of skills and talent development.’’

ace turtle Appoints Three Senior Leaders to Drive Business Growth

Bengaluru, August 05, 2024: ace turtle, India’s leading technology-native retail company today announced the appointment of three distinguished leaders to its senior management team. Rahul Rajan has been appointed as Chief Business Officer – Retail of fashion brands, Agnes Raja George as AVP and Business Head of Wrangler & Central Planning and Jitender Singh as AVP & Business Head of Lee. These strategic hires are set to bolster ace turtle’s growth and further its goal of revolutionizing retail through technology.

Commenting on the appointments, Nitin Chhabra, CEO, ace turtle said, “We are excited to welcome Rahul, Agnes and Jitender to our leadership team. All of them bring extensive experience in retail and technology along with proven track records that will be invaluable as we continue to drive strong business growth. We continue to leverage our unique technology-driven operating model to launch new brands and scale the business of existing brands across India strengthening our position in the Indian retail industry and delivering exceptional value to our customers.”

Rahul Rajan, Chief Business Officer – Retail will help drive growth across online and offline retail channels for all the fashion brands in ace turtle’s portfolio. He joins ace turtle with 15 years of experience, including seven years as a successful business operator and previously as a strategy and investment professional. Rahul’s expertise spans P&L management, strategy and business planning, business development and creating product and tech roadmaps. He joins ace turtle from Flipkart where he played a pivotal role in building new businesses in beauty, FMCG and fast fashion, and scaling complex multi-billion-dollar apparel businesses. He holds an MBA from IIM Mumbai.

Agnes Raja George joins ace turtle as AVP & Business Head of Wrangler and Central Planning. With close to 23 years of experience in the fashion retail industry, Agnes specializes in P&L management, brand building, marketing, inventory planning, cash flow management and supply chain management. He has a proven track record in managing brands across department stores, exclusive brand stores, online marketplaces, and multi-brand outlet trade in India. Before joining ace turtle, Agnes founded and scaled the women’s wear brand De Moza and held various leadership roles at Landmark Group India, Aditya Birla Fashion and Lifestyle.

Jitender Singh, AVP & Business Head of Lee, brings 22 years of experience across online and offline channels, and across sports & fitness, lifestyle, FMCG and consumer durable categories. He has a strong background in building and leading direct and matrix teams to drive sustainable business growth. Before joining ace turtle, Jitender was Senior Director at Myntra, where he significantly grew the HRX and Nautica brands. His previous experience includes roles at Decathlon, 3M, Café Coffee Day, and TTK Prestige.

Since 2023, ace turtle has expanded its leadership team significantly to enable rapid and sustainable growth as it continues to expand its licensed brands portfolio. The company is the exclusive licensee of iconic global denim brands Lee® and Wrangler®, globally renowned toy retail chain Toys“R”Us® and Babies“R”Us® and California-based casual wear brand Dockers® for India and other South Asian markets.

OML and Artists Lead the Charge for Change: From Hunger Relief to Wildlife Conservation

India, Nationwide Release, 5th August 2024: Only Much Louder, a market-leading, full-service creative and entertainment business network, has partnered with their artists to amplify awareness for causes close to their hearts. Through support to various nonprofits, Only Much Louder and its artists have come together in a shared commitment to create meaningful change. The contribution underscores Only Much Louder’s dedication towards making a tangible difference in diverse areas such as hunger relief, wildlife conservation, animal welfare and trans people’s rehabilitation.

Speaking about the initiative, Gunjan Arya, CEO of Only Much Louder said, “At OML, we recognize that artists possess a unique ability to not only spotlight but also humanize real issues and catalyze meaningful change through their creative expression. We are collaborating with OML artists and partnering with impactful social organizations, to create lasting, meaningful change that’s driven by our shared dedication to making a difference in the world. By aligning our resources with their passions, we’re amplifying their voices and contributing to meaningful change.”

Chef Thomas Zacharias joins hands with Khaana Chahiye Foundation, an Impact organization, that works towards achieving SDG-2 ‘Zero Hunger’ in Mumbai. A registered non-profit at the forefront of the fight against hunger, Khaana Chahiye leads a grassroots citizen movement committed to positive change. With Only Much Louder’s support, two community kitchens have continued their operations, one in Ulhasnagar run by a transgender collective and another in Kurla led by a women’s self-help group. These kitchens have been instrumental in providing meals to underprivileged families, daily wage workers, and marginalized communities.

 Chef Thomas Zacharias, Chef & Founder of The Locavore, said, “Together, we’re working towards the vital mission of ensuring no one in Mumbai goes to bed hungry. It’s truly inspiring to see the community come together to make such a significant difference.”

Comedian and producer Zakir Khan firmly stands with The Chhanv Foundation, an NGO dedicated to rehabilitating acid attack survivors. Through their Sheroes Hangout cafés in Agra, Lucknow, and Noida, the foundation offers not just employment but also hope and renewed purpose to survivors. Zakir Khan, said, “The Chhanv Foundation is committed to empowering acid attack survivors by addressing their comprehensive needs, including medical treatment; education for both survivors and their children; and facilitating employment opportunities. Only Much Louder has helped me support acid attack survivors and to make a difference.”

Artists Anshula Kapoor, Raunaq Rajani, and Sahil Shah are driving force behind YODA’s mission to help stray animals through rescue and rehabilitation, and help indies find their forever homes. Anshula Kapoor said, “As an artist, embodying the ethos of YODA — compassion backed with action — means using my creative platform to make a tangible difference in the rehabilitation of injured and neglected stray animals and providing them with a safe abode.”

Stand-up comedian and digital creator Sahil Shah, said, “YODA’s consolidated approach to helping stray animals resonates deeply with me. Partnering with Only Much Louder to support YODA’s mission is a cause I’m passionately committed to. I’m eager to lend my support in any way possible to help make a positive impact in the lives of indies.”

Stand-up comedian and digital creator, Raunaq Rajani, said, “As an artist, I am dedicated to amplifying the voices of the voiceless. With Only Much Louder, I lend my support to YODA, which was started with a vision to help abandoned and stray animals throughout the country and provide homes for them.”

Actor and creator Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju has chosen to support TWEET Foundation’s Garima Greh initiative, which will utilize the donated funds to provide essential hormones to 25 transmen. This guarantees their health and well-being for six months, while also offering them access to counseling, education, skill development, and employment opportunities. Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, said, “Supporting TWEET Foundation’s Garima Greh is an honor. Trans people often face rejection and violence at the hands of their natal family first and foremost, leading to a massive disparity in education, healthcare and opportunity. Therefore, providing not just a home, but a sanctuary and holistic support for trans people becomes imperative. I believe in the transformative power of compassion and community, and it is only through this that we’re able to heal as individuals and contribute to society at large. I’m humbled to support a cause this transformative.”

Shaheen Bhatt has selected Wildlife SOS, an organization that protects and conserves India’s natural heritage and biodiversity. The donated funds will go towards the organization’s efforts in rescuing and rehabilitating abused or injured elephants in need. Writer and mental health activist, Shaheen Bhatt, said, “Wildlife SOS stands as a beacon for lasting change, dedicated to protecting and conserving India’s rich wildlife and biodiversity. Together, we’re paving the way for a brighter future for elephants and championing the cause of wildlife conservation.”

Actor and fitness enthusiast Bani J has chosen to support the Indian Cancer Society, an NGO that focuses on cancer awareness, early detection, diagnosis and treatment funding, post-treatment support, and rehabilitation of those belonging to underprivileged communities, in both urban and rural areas. Bani J said, “I have quite a bit of family history with cancer of all kinds, none pleasant. I know how it can bring support and people together but how it also eats you from the inside out. It’s never, ever easy. This is just a small drop in the ocean along with OML, to extend financial support for people who can’t afford treatment in the hopes of early diagnosis and to hopefully ease some of the stress cancer brings.”

Only Much Louder recognizes that art and philanthropy are deeply interconnected. The artist-first company believes in working closely with talent on matters beyond commercial endeavors to drive causes they are passionate about.

Tusharr Kumar, COO Of Only Much Louder said, “Art and artists have always been a conduit for social change. Our artists feel passionately about each of these causes and we feel privileged to come together with them to amplify the impact for each of these organizations and communities.”

Previously in 2020, during the Covid-19 pandemic, Only Much Louder and YouTube had collaborated to launch “One Nation,” an 11.5-hour live streaming show featuring original content created during the lockdown. This initiative aimed to entertain, uplift spirits, and encourage mutual support during challenging times.

EquiLead wraps up its first annual conference, “Lead With Equity 2024,” – which builds an ecosystem for gender equity conversations and collaborations.

New Delhi, 5/8/24: EquiLead, a Climate Asia and Arthan Foundation initiative, successfully hosted its first annual flagship Lead With Equity conference on the theme Building Pathways Towards Women’s Leadership from July 22-24, 2024. The event, aimed at accelerating women’s leadership in the social impact sector through advancing gender diversity, equity, and inclusion in institutions, saw enthusiastic participation and support from various partners and attendees.

 The three-day conference, supported by five anchor partners and 21 ecosystem and knowledge partners, saw more than 40 thought leaders speak at the event and drew over 250 participants who engaged in in-depth discussions and workshops on key questions driving EquiLead’s mission. The event was structured around four primary themes:

 1. Inclusive and Gender Equitable Leadership Pathways: Discussions centred on designing interventions to make women’s leadership journeys more inclusive, with a focus on networking and workplace dynamics.
2. Operationalising Gender-Intentional Workplaces: Participants explored creating workplace ecosystems that support women’s representation and leadership, addressing patriarchal and power dynamics.
3. Gender Lens Approach: The complexities of a gender lens approach were discussed, emphasizing the roles of various enablers in advocating for and implementing this perspective.
4. Impact of Women’s Leadership: Inspirational stories highlighted how institutions thrive when women lead, with insights from gender equity champions and institutional leaders.

 The conference commenced with CommUnity Conversations on July 22, designed to build a community of women leaders and key actors committed to gender-equitable leadership pathways, and the day included the She the Change Brunch, co-hosted with The Asia Foundation and an Impact Connect meet-up focusing on the “Power of Human Connections.”

 July 23, the flagship ConfHERence Day, featured thought leadership sessions, panels, and networking forums. Keynote speakers included Kanta Singh (UN Women India), Neeraj Jain (PATH), Shagun Sabharwal (Co-Impact), and Julia Middleton (Women Emerging), who shared insights on accelerating gender equitable leadership.

 The day also marked the soft launch of the EquiLead online platform,which currently hosts job vacancies and information about ecosystem events and gender equity resources. The platform aims to support women in the EquiLead network by providing valuable resources and opportunities.

 Panel discussions on July 23 covered various topics under the larger theme of women’s leadership, including the strategic role of gender lens giving principles in philanthropy, the power dynamics in leadership, the importance of women’s participation in social impact leadership, and diversification of boards in the sector. The discussions emphasised the need for comprehensive support systems and inclusive workplace behaviours. A special segment called EquiLead Showcase spotlighted women-led organisations including India Development Review, Chambal Media and Perkins School for the Blind that are redefining leadership through their gender intentional practices and policies.

 The final day, July 24, was dedicated to the EquiLead Lab, which hosted knowledge sessions and workshops. Notable sessions included “Making Motherhood Work: Policies and Pitfalls in Professional Settings,” “Power Up—Boost Your Personal Brand Presence,” and “Empowering Women in Climate Careers: Building Green Skills and Leadership.”

 The conference concluded with a roundtable discussion on Accelerating Women’s Leadership in Climate Action, co-hosted by Climate Asia and EquiLead. The discussion focused on placing women at the centre of climate initiatives and addressing barriers to their participation.

 EquiLead’s “Lead with Equity” conference embodied its mission to create gender-equitable leadership pathways, offering solidarity and a network of committed leaders. The movement has begun, and EquiLead invites everyone to join this transformative journey.

 Our partners for the event include MegaDelta Capital, Climate Asia, The Asia Foundation, HT Parekh Foundation, Arthan Foundation, WomenLift Health, Treelife, Perkins India, Co-Impact, AVPN, Arthan, Parenthesis India, Greenr, Chambal Media, Quest Alliance, Aikyam Fellow, PATH, Avendus, Good Business Labs, Urja Trust, ACT Grants, Dasra, WomenLead Alliance, JustJobs Network and Purpose.

ISACA Research: Amidst Uncertainty Around AI, 23 Percent Say Their Organization Is Considering Increasing AI Jobs

Bangalore, India (5th August 2024)—Sixty percent of respondents to ISACA’s recent 2024 AI Pulse Poll believe AI will have a positive impact on audit/assurance in the next year—the highest number compared to other domains like risk, compliance, security, IT strategy/governance, and privacy. With AI holding significant potential for the IT audit profession, ISACA has launched an introductory course to AI for auditors, alongside other new online, self-paced AI courses on ethics and machine learning for business enablement, as part of its expanding AI education offerings.

The research also revealed some uncertainties around AI. Thirty-nine percent of respondents believe that AI will have a negative impact on privacy as a professional domain in the next year. Additionally, 20 percent of respondents indicate they are not at all confident in their ability to detect AI-powered misinformation; the same percent echoed this lack of confidence in their organizations’ abilities. When asked who is responsible for or oversees the usage of AI within their organization, one in five say they are not sure.

However, with 23 percent of respondents saying their organization is considering increasing those AI jobs and 5 percent saying they will need AI training within two years to help them retain their roles or advance their careers, education and training will be essential for professionals to keep pace.

The new courses, which can be accessed through ISACA’s online portal at the learner’s convenience and offer CPE, include:

• Introduction to AI for Auditors—Instills essential AI concepts relevant to auditing, delving into specific AI techniques, AI-powered tools and systems, and ethical considerations as they relate to audit.

• Ethical Perspectives in AI: Implications, Principles, and Social Dynamic: Examines the ethical consequences associated with AI use, the ethical principles that should be considered in the development and adoption of AI, and the impacts AI could have on society.

• Machine Learning for Business Enablement—Explores how to effectively evaluate machine learning solutions, better assess risk, and aid responsible adoption, preparing professionals to better support enterprise adoption and use.

“As AI continues to impact professions across many fields in a rapid and unprecedented way, those from auditors and cybersecurity managers, to risk analysts and privacy professionals will need to understand the technology, as well as its applications and impact as it pertains to their work,” said Shannon Donahue, ISACA Chief Content and Publishing Officer. “Digital trust professionals at all career stages should explore the range of tools at their disposal to stay informed and relevant when it comes to emerging technologies, to both expand their knowledge and futureproof their careers.”

These follow the recent launches of additional courses AI Essentials, Auditing Generative AI: Strategy, Analysis and Risk Mitigation, and AI Governance: Principles, Strategies and Business Alignment.

They join additional AI-focused resources from ISACA, including:
• Artificial Intelligence: A Primer on Machine Learning, Deep Learning, and Neural Networks
• Artificial Intelligence Audit Toolkit
• Using the Digital Trust Ecosystem Framework to Achieve Trustworthy AI
• An AI acceptable use policy template (one of 15 IS/IT policies available in ISACA’s Policy Template Library)

AWS can help Indian organisations reduce carbon emissions of AI workloads

INDIA – August 5, 2024 – A new study commissioned by Amazon Web Services (AWS) and completed by Accenture shows that an effective way to minimise the environmental footprint of leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) is by moving IT workloads from on-premises infrastructure to AWS cloud data centres in India and around the globe. Accenture estimates that AWS’s global infrastructure is up to 4.1 times more efficient than on-premises. For Indian organisations, the total potential carbon reduction opportunity for AI workloads optimised on AWS is up to 99% compared to on-premises data centres.

The research states that simply utilizing AWS data centres for compute-heavy, or AI, workloads in India yields a 98% reduction in carbon emissions compared to on-premises data centres. This is credited to AWS’s utilisation of more efficient hardware (32%), improvements in power and cooling efficiency (35%), and additional carbon-free energy procurement (31%). Further optimising on AWS by leveraging purpose-built silicon can increase the total carbon reduction potential of AI workloads to up to 99% for Indian organisations that migrate to and optimise on AWS.

“Considering 85% of global IT spend by organisations remains on-premises, a carbon reduction of up to 99% for AI workloads optimised on AWS in India is a meaningful sustainability opportunity for Indian organisations,” said Jenna Leiner, Head of Environment Social Governance (ESG) and External Engagement, AWS Global. “As India accelerates towards its US$1 trillion-dollar digital opportunity and encourages investments into digital infrastructure, sustainability innovations and minimising IT related carbon emissions will be critical in also helping India meet its net-zero emissions by 2070 goal. This is particularly important given the rising adoption of AI. AWS is constantly innovating for sustainability across our data centres —optimising our data centre design, investing in purpose-built chips, and innovating with new cooling technologies – so that we continuously increase energy efficiency to serve customer compute demands.”

“This research shows that AWS’s focus on hardware and cooling efficiency, carbon-free energy, purpose-built silicon, and optimized storage can help organizations reduce the carbon footprint of AI and machine learning workloads,” said Sanjay Podder, global lead for Technology Sustainability Innovation at Accenture. “As the demand for AI continues to grow, sustainability through technology can play a crucial role in helping businesses meet environmental goals while driving innovation.”

Sustainable chip technology innovation – purpose-built silicon

One of the most visible ways AWS is innovating for energy efficiency is through the company’s investment in AWS chips. Launched in 2018, the custom AWS-engineered general purpose processor, Graviton, was the first-of-its-kind to be deployed at scale by a major cloud provider. The latest Graviton4 offers four times the performance of Graviton, and while Graviton3 uses 60% less energy for the same performance as comparable Amazon EC2 instances (where the compute happens in a data centre), Graviton4 is even more energy efficient.

AWS customers are also benefiting from the carbon reduction potential of Graviton. Paytm, India’s leading payments and financial services distribution platform, witnessed a reduction in workload carbon intensity by adopting Graviton processors, reporting up to 47% estimated decrease in carbon emissions per transaction. Similarly, IBS Software, a leading SaaS solutions provider to the global travel industry, reported that other than improving performance and reducing cost by adopting Graviton processors, the company saw a 40% reduction in carbon emissions per instance hour.

Running generative AI applications in a more sustainable way requires innovation at the silicon level with energy efficient hardware. To optimise performance and energy consumption, AWS developed purpose-built silicon like the AWS Trainium chip and AWS Inferentia chip to achieve significantly higher throughput than comparable accelerated compute instances. AWS Trainium cuts the time taken to train generative AI models—in some cases from months to hours. This means building new models requires less money and power, with energy-consumption reductions of almost one third/up to 29%. AWS Inferentia is AWS’s most power-efficient machine learning inference chip. AWS Inferentia2 machine learning accelerator delivers up to 50% higher performance per watt and can reduce costs by up to 40% against comparable instances. These purpose-built accelerators enable AWS to efficiently execute AI models at scale. This translates to a reduced infrastructure footprint for similar workloads, resulting in enhanced performance per watt of power consumption.

Improving energy efficiency across AWS infrastructure

Through innovations in engineering—from electrical distribution to cooling techniques, AWS’s infrastructure is able to operate closer to peak energy efficiency. AWS optimises resource utilisation to minimise idle capacity, and continuously improves the efficiency of its infrastructure. For example, AWS removed the large central Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) from its data centre design to instead use small battery packs and custom power supplies that AWS integrates into every rack, which has improved power efficiency and has further increased availability. Every time power is converted from one voltage to another, or from AC to DC and vice versa, some power is lost in the process. By eliminating the central UPS, AWS are able to reduce these conversions. Additionally, AWS have optimised rack power supplies to reduce energy loss in that final conversion. Combined, these changes reduce energy conversion loss by about 35%.

After powering AWS’s server equipment, cooling is one of the largest sources of energy use in AWS data centres. To increase efficiency, AWS uses different cooling techniques, including free air cooling depending on the location and time of year, as well as real-time data to adapt to weather conditions. Implementing these innovative cooling strategies is more challenging on a smaller scale at a typical on-premises data centre. AWS’s latest data centre design seamlessly integrates optimised air-cooling solutions alongside liquid cooling capabilities for the most powerful AI chipsets, like the NVIDIA Grace Blackwell Superchips. This flexible, multimodal cooling design allows AWS to extract maximum performance and efficiency whether running traditional workloads or AI models.

According to the study, AWS’s additional carbon-free energy procurement in India contributes 31% in carbon emissions reduction for compute-heavy workloads and 44% for storage-heavy workloads. Aligning with Amazon’s commitment to achieving net-zero carbon emissions across all operations by 2040, AWS is rapidly transitioning its global infrastructure to match electricity use with 100% carbon-free energy.