Are We Building the Future for Everyone — or Just the Few?
Reflections from the Datacloud Global Conference, UN Ocean Conference, and Money20/20
June was a month of contrasts. I spent it in high-tech conference halls and ancient oceans. In between conversations about AI and digital infrastructure, I swam in the Mediterranean and listened to stories from Pacific islanders.
From Monaco to Amsterdam to Nice, one question kept surfacing:
Is the future we’re building inclusive, sustainable, and just — or is it only designed for a privileged few?
Here are the highlights and hard questions I’m still sitting with.
💡 Datacloud Global Conference — Cannes
This was ground zero for the data infrastructure world: hyperscalers, cooling tech innovators, and data center giants.
What stood out? Water.
Cooling data centers is a resource-intensive process. We often hear about the electricity demands of AI — but what about the water?
❄️ The Hidden Cost of Cooling
A single data center can consume millions of liters of water per day — often to maintain climate control for server farms running 24/7.
Meanwhile, over 2 billion people globally lack access to safe drinking water (UN, 2023).
So why aren’t we talking about this more?
I spoke with CEOs leading major data center companies and technical experts from firms like Ecolabs and Rittal, who work directly on cooling technologies. What I heard was revealing:
🔹 Capitalism Wins
There’s an electric sense of urgency in the industry.
“We’re on the cusp of a trillion-dollar moment.”
That’s the phrase I heard more than once. Over $1 trillion in investment is expected in data infrastructure in the next 4–5 years.
The message? Scale fast or miss out. Environmental concerns often take a backseat.
🔹 “There Are Worse Polluters”
When questioned about water usage, some deflected responsibility.
Other industries pollute more, they said.
But blaming others doesn’t change the facts — or solve the problem.
🔹 Denial Meets Techno-Solutionism
Some executives promoted recycled water systems or breakthrough lab solutions “coming soon.”
But when I spoke to the people actually building these systems, I got a different story:
pH levels in cooling liquids must be precisely maintained to prevent bacterial growth.
Many “innovative” solutions are still experimental, with no large-scale deployment or peer-reviewed evidence.
Yet, despite this uncertainty, the race to scale continues. Whoever builds faster wins — even if the environmental cost remains unresolved.
🔹 We Need Real Regulation
Until sustainability is more than a marketing line, regulations must guide this industry.
I’m wary of anyone suggesting otherwise.
Are we willing to slow down, rethink, and regulate — or will we let short-term profit dictate our long-term survival?
💸 Money20/20 — Amsterdam
At one of the world’s leading fintech conferences, we brought our Rising Lotuses cohort to the stage.
Our message to the next generation of leaders was simple:
Technology must serve justice, inclusion, and responsibility.
Innovation without ethics will only reproduce the systems we’re trying to escape.
There’s still a long way to go — especially when access to financial tools, data, and digital infrastructure remains deeply unequal across the globe.
Rising Lotuses at Money 20/20 Amplify Amsterdam
🌊 UN Ocean Conference 2025 — Nice
After days of tech talk and data debates, I returned to something older and deeper: the sea.
Swimming in the Mediterranean reminded me that water is not just a resource — it’s sacred.
At the French Polynesia pavilion, I met Laetitia, who shared stories of her homeland and the spiritual importance of water in her culture.
She spoke about protecting our Māna — our life force — by safeguarding the waters that sustain it.
In a world obsessed with speed and scale, it’s people like her — defenders of ancestral wisdom and local ecosystems — who give me hope.
🌐 So... What Kind of Future Are We Building?
Is it:
A future of digital extraction and climate breakdown?
Or one of regenerative intelligence, collective care, and interdependence?
It’s easy to be cynical. But I choose to stay curious — and committed.
Let’s make sure that the next trillion-dollar investment doesn’t cost us the planet, or the dignity of people in the Global South who are too often left out of these conversations.
Let’s build a future for all of us — not just the few.
What are you seeing in your work? How do we hold technology accountable to people and planet?
I’d love to hear your thoughts.
#Sustainability #AI #ClimateJustice #DataCenters #DigitalEquity #WaterJustice #OceanConservation #TechEthics #GlobalSouth #ResponsibleInnovation
