Whether you are a manager, investor, policy maker, or analyst some hue or the other, scenario analyses is part of your job portfolio. Analyses not just analysis, because the world is open to multiple interpretations, some credible, some beguiling. Since ‘analysing data’ has become easier and faster with some AI agent, as even Excel too will be embedded with AI, the job of all these professionals has more to do with building scenarios. How AI can assist you is really a function of the breadth of your thinking.

Land, Energy, Water – sounds like the demand of a people fighting for basics but these are three resources that will dominate public policy discussion in the world as cities vie with one another to attract companies to set up data centres. Sustainability has not been a subject of debate linked to data centres and AI but it should be. Given the intensity of water usage, it is imperative to make appropriate investments in water treatment.

If the world is dynamic, there will always be a weakening or strengthening of exiting alignments and forging of new alignments. The likely differentiating factor now is that we will see a future where businesses and national governments will work more closely together than ever before. The reason is simple: (ignoring the domestic) governments have defined goals to face and take on the world for which they will need the support of business, who, in turn, will benefit from building businesses to a scale they could not have imagined

Upsetting the Apple cart brings unpleasant experiences to those invested in the established order and hence their resistance to change. In education, upsetting the Apple cart can have far-reaching impact

If the world is dynamic, you cannot but be otherwise. And to be dynamic, you need to continuously update your knowledge and skills, either or both, depending on your area of work. And that is possible only if a curriculum is developed which incorporates the changes that need to be addressed. An outdated curriculum doesn’t prepare students for a changing world

The concern for the environment is becoming a factor in influencing buying decisions of some consumers, however small, especially among those with the capacity for discretionary buying. Many companies have been resorting to a misleading practice called greenwashing to woo such consumers. On the other hand, environment compliance is getting reduced to just form-filling

Multiple agendas are being pursued to save planet earth – fight against global warming, climate change, loss of biodiversity, ecological imbalances, but compulsions of electoral politics and business interests will ensure that nothing beyond lip service is available to any agenda that has no business potential. While this fight must continue, we must focus on energy efficiency and efficiency in waste management, as every alarming signal is ignored.