My favorite panel was one I moderated with a half-dozen leaders and stakeholders in the world of AI data centers, including Andy Hock from Cerebras, Matt Field from Crusoe, and former OpenAI infrastructure policy leader Lane Dilg. We dug into how the line is blurring between power infrastructure and data centers, with billions in capital and gigawatts of power at play. My biggest takeaway was that the AI data center issue is local, local, local. Every community and local government will be dealing with its own specific issues and compromises around issues such as land, energy, and water—and what works for one area might not work for another.
And here is what Bea had to say about this year’s Brainstorm AI San Francisco:
Most enterprises are still trying to figure out the best way to adopt AI, but leaders this year were also keen to emphasize that choosing the right tools is only part of the equation. Companies also need to ensure that both their employees and their org charts are ready for the shift—otherwise, even the most advanced AI pilots are likely to fail.
As Accenture’s Chief Responsible AI Officer Arnab Chakraborty put it: “Don’t just think about technology—think about people and the culture. It is so paramount.”
Or take Open Machine CEO Allie K. Miller’s advice and don’t call AI a tool at all: “Calling it a tool ends up being a little bit of borderline self-limiting behavior that is holding enterprise all around the world behind.”
I also moderated a panel of healthcare experts, which brought together a mix of clinicians who see patients every day and tech leaders building and deploying healthtech tools at scale. In healthcare, the industry is generally feeling good about clinician-facing AI, but it’s still wrestling with what it means to safely deploy patient-facing agents.
The panelists discussed, among other things, what it means to be moving toward a future where patients and clinicians consult the same AI before they consult each other.
The excitement is running high on the corporate side, but not that much has really changed in the examination room—at least according to Gurpreet Dhaliwal, a clinician-educator and Professor of Medicine at the University of California. Whether it’s with Dr. Google, Dr. ChatGPT, or just a neighbor with some strong beliefs about antibiotics, Dhaliwal said patients have always arrived with a second opinion in their back pocket. While AI is poised to be a revolutionary force for healthcare—especially in fringe cases such as rare diseases—it’s yet to fundamentally change the dynamic between patients and their physicians.
With that, here’s the rest of the AI news.
Jeremy Kahn
jeremy.kahn@fortune.com
@jeremyakahn
