As the world increasingly turns to consumption-heavy computing for modern workloads, including data-hungry artificial intelligence applications, the cloud-native community converges to discuss the future of technology, sustainability and innovation.

The KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe event, held in Paris this week, brought together industry leaders and experts to discuss these critical topics. One of the most pressing issues highlighted was the need for sustainable development in cloud computing. This underscores the growing recognition within the tech community of its role and responsibility in addressing environmental concerns, according to Rob Strechay (pictured, right), principal analyst for theCUBE.

“We had numerous sponsors, including Deutsche Bank, talking about sustainability. In fact, I think sustainability was the big topic and how to develop sustainably,” Strechay said. “What seems to be really in flux is how you deal with artificial intelligence and sustainability.”

Strechay, along with his co-hosts Savannah Peterson (center) and Dustin Kirkland (left), kicked off the second day of  KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe, during an exclusive broadcast on theCUBE, SiliconANGLE Media’s livestreaming studio. They discussed the intersection of cloud computing and sustainability, emphasizing energy-efficient technologies and innovative strategies to reduce the environmental impact of digital infrastructure. (* Disclosure below.)

The sustainability challenge for a data-hungry world

Today’s keynotes revealed a critical intersection between cloud computing and environmental sustainability. Significant energy consumption is associated with cloud technologies, particularly concerning are AI technologies, Kirkland explained.

“Blockchain and crypto have gotten a fair amount of flack about how much of the world’s energy is spent mining coins. Now, if you’re not mining coins with GPUs, you’re probably running an AI or machine learning workload of some kind,” Kirkland said. “I think we’ve got to think a little bit about whether that is worth if the product that is being produced by those machine learning workloads can be sustainably performed.”

The discussion also touched on the potential for optimizing cloud computing to reduce its environmental impact. This includes improving the efficiency of data centers and leveraging sustainable energy sources, Kirkland explained. Improvements, however, should not just rely on technological advancements, but also on strategic resource management to enhance sustainability.

“There one piece that we have some control over is writing code as efficiently as possible. You can write your code inefficiently, which consumes way more CPU, GPU, disk storage and whatnot,” Kirkland said. “We need to do that as best as possible. What the silicon vendors do or choose to do or can do, that’s going to be largely driven by their customers. And then on the backend the cloud operators should be consuming energy from renewable sources, but also buying CO2 offset credits where possible.”

The conference insights serve as a compelling reminder of the ongoing challenges and opportunities in cloud computing. The industry is at a critical juncture and the decisions made today will significantly impact future technological development and environmental sustainability.

“We actually had a conversation at [the Supercomputing Conference] in Denver, about a company in Denmark. They’re actually heating Copenhagen with power, like liquid cooling, and then taking that liquid and heating it,” Peterson said. “It’s a nice way of regenerating that and using that power consumption for good and creating a commodity for the community.”

Here’s the complete video interview, part of SiliconANGLE’s and theCUBE Research’s coverage of KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe:

(* Disclosure: TheCUBE is a paid media partner for the KubeCon + CloudNativeCon Europe event. No sponsors have editorial control over content on theCUBE or SiliconANGLE.)

Photo: SiliconANGLE