#TheWorldTomorrow: Green Tech / Green IT - Digital responsibility

41st broadcast of #LeMondeDeDemain on Léman Bleu

The digitization of society is accelerating, bringing with it a multitude of economic, ecological and social impacts. From equipment to power consumption, from data protection to the digital divide. These are just some of the technical and social issues that need to be explored for a more sustainable future, and which lead us to discover the Geneva-based companies STACK infrastructure and Datago in this new program, as well as an interview with Alexander Barclay, the Canton of Geneva's Digital Delegate. 

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Replay of the program on robotized production:

What solutions are Geneva's digital companies offering to meet the ethical and sustainable challenge?

Report STACK infrastructure: the environmental challenge 

Formerly SafeHost, American company STACK infrastructure operates several data centers in Switzerland. Its data hosting and storage business is both its core activity and the main cause of its carbon footprint. To better manage a particularly energy-intensive business, especially in the current energy crisis, the company needs to strike the right balance between the service performance its customers legitimately expect and more sustainable energy performance. To this end, it is evoking its electrical infrastructure and cooling system, and the circularity that can be achieved by creating intelligent bridges. A case in point: the company recycles part of the waste heat generated by its infrastructure and servers to supply the ZIPLO district heating network.  

Datago report: the social challenge

Between cloud and big data, the stakes are high when it comes to our data. The volume of information we input on a daily basis continues to grow, and is now being multiplied exponentially with the rise of artificial intelligence. As a result, the risk becomes all the greater, logically and at the same time, as Diego Carrillo, Associate Consultant at Datago, sums up: a potential "loss of control" in the face of an ongoing phenomenon of decentralization and dematerialization of this cloud of information and data. These are issues and challenges in terms of confidentiality and security, for which the legal and judicial framework, which is evolving almost constantly in line with technological developments and their impact on our daily lives (financial, political, social, health and medical...), will also be one of the solutions, with the adoption of new data protection legislation in September.

Interview with Alexander Barclay, Digital Delegate for the Canton of Geneva: the political challenge

Alexander Barclay quite rightly begins his interview by reminding us of the omnipresence of digital technology in our daily lives, sometimes unsuspected because it seems so impalpable, and yet with a very real impact in terms of energy costs. This observation is directly linked to the challenges we face today, which will prove decisive in building tomorrow's world, ensuring that it is as inclusive and fair as possible. Against the backdrop of the state of climate emergency declared in Geneva by the Council of State, the energy transition and digital integrity are therefore becoming major issues, to the point of envisaging forward-looking legislative work to amend the Constitution.