Aer Studios Hosts SXSW London Panel on Sustainable and Secure AI

Despite our opinions on where SXSW should have been held in the UK, we were delighted to take part in the inaugural SXSW London as part of BIMA House - a 2 day packed agenda of talks and discussions hosted by BIMA.

Our panel session was focused on our topic of the year - Is ChatGPT killing the penguins - and other less talked about (but important) considerations related to AI.

Hosted by myself, we were fortunate to have some great panellists:

• Francesca Lavey, COO at Crosstide - a custom software and data transformation consultancy for the enterprise

• Scott Ewings, CEO at Raven (and now CSO at aer!) - who work with ambitious organisations to help them grow, lead and deliver results through experience

• James Stevenson, EV Strategy Director at Enterprise - a global provider of mobility solutions

We had an extremely wide-ranging discussion, with the general consensus being that AI is probably not ‘killing the penguins’, but it is a net new source of energy use and carbon emissions.

Some other key takeaways from the discussion:

• Focus on experimentation over perfection
  Dive in, experiment, and lean on community - whether that’s meetups, podcasts, or social groups - to navigate the potential and avoid the pitfalls.

• Proceed with caution (and purpose)
  AI’s resource consumption is real, impacting energy, water, and infrastructure. But it’s not all bad news: AI can also be leveraged to optimize energy use and support decarbonization. The goal is intentionality - use it with purpose (and maybe skip generating 20 different versions of yourself as Action Man).

• Industry must lead where policy lags
  With government guidance and scale-up investment lagging behind the rapid pace of tech, the responsibility falls on us. Individuals, organizations, and industry bodies need to step up to set the tone and direct how AI is used effectively.

• Build human-centered guardrails
  Governance shouldn't mean stifling curiosity. The panel agreed on taking a human-first approach to regulation - establishing adaptable guardrails that keep risk in check while keeping the door open for ongoing experimentation.

• Protect your distinctiveness
  Beware of AI “blanding.” AI can supercharge your speed and volume, but over-relying on generic outputs will render your work completely forgettable. Use AI to support your execution, but keep human expertise, strategic thinking, and your unique creative edge front and center.

It was also really pleasing to have some great chats with attendees after the session.

At aer, we’ll continue to bang the drum about intentional, thoughtful use of AI in line with our general approach to digital sustainability.