Dubai: Panellists at the Annual Meetings of the Global Future Councils and Cybersecurity 2025, taking place on 14-16 October in Dubai, explored how we can build AI infrastructure that scales innovation and shrinks environmental impact.

According to Emirates News Agency, the event is organised by the UAE Government in partnership with the World Economic Forum (WEF), bringing together more than 700 experts and specialists from 93 countries in 37 Councils. Moderated by Azeem Azhar, Chief Executive Officer of Exponential View, the session - titled 'AI's Scaling Dilemma' - brought together Khalfan Belhoul, CEO of the Dubai Future Foundation; Janet Godsell, Dean of the Loughborough Business School at Loughborough University; Kate Kallot, Founder and CEO of Amini; Cina Lawson, Minister of Digital Economy and Transformation of Togo; and Ali Sajwani, Managing Director of Operations Finance and Hospitality at DAMAC Group, and Founder and CEO of Amali Properties.

Khalfan Belhoul reflected on the inception of the Dubai Future Foundation, emphasizing the need for a collaborative approach between the government and the private sector. He highlighted the UAE's commitment to innovation by instituting roles such as the Chief AI Officer and the Minister of AI to tackle challenges and foster expertise.

Minister Cina Lawson discussed Togo's strategic focus on regional cooperation for building AI capabilities, stressing the importance of partnerships in data centers, energy, and talent for smaller countries. She shared Togo's experiences in leveraging AI for sustainable farming and solar energy investments.

Kate Kallot addressed the constraints faced in certain markets and the innovative approaches necessary to overcome them. She introduced the concept of containerized data centers that accommodate minimum viable compute needs, emphasizing data sovereignty and efficient investment.

Ali Sajwani shared insights from DAMAC's entry into the data center business, emphasizing the critical role of power availability. He predicted the growing power demand from data centers driven by AI and identified nuclear energy as a potential solution to meet future energy requirements.

Janet Godsell underscored the need for sustainable energy solutions and data decarbonization. She highlighted the importance of optimizing data usage by identifying and eliminating 'dark data' to reduce energy consumption and support growth sustainably.