Key takeaways from the Future of Tech conference 2026 — AI, sustainability & responsible innovation

Our Future of Tech conference brought together technologists, business leaders, policymakers and researchers to explore how emerging technologies are shaping the economy, society and the environment — and how they can be adopted more responsibly.

Across the keynote and three panel sessions, the conversation focused on intentional innovation, the real-world impact of artificial intelligence (AI) and data infrastructure and the importance of balancing opportunity with sustainability, ethics and governance. Speakers moved past hype to examine where technology is already delivering value and where greater caution, collaboration and long-term thinking are needed.

Here, Colin Bell and Ruth Hargreaves from our technology sector team break down the key takeaways from each session.

Jump to:

• Keynote: AI at the Crossroads: Driving Growth or Environmental Risk?
• Panel one: Tech for Good — Turning Innovation into Impact.
• Panel two: Data Centres & Quantum Computing — Powering the Next Digital Revolution.
• Panel three: AI & Emerging Tech — Innovating Sustainably for Tomorrow.

Keynote: AI at the Crossroads: Driving Growth or Environmental Risk?

The keynote, delivered by Patricia Gestoso, opened with a deliberately provocative framing — two possible visions of 2030 shaped by how AI is prioritised and deployed.

One future centred on unchecked expansion: increasingly powerful AI supported by largescale surveillance, massive data centres and resource-intensive infrastructure, with mounting environmental and societal costs. The alternative showed how more intentional use of AI could improve healthcare outcomes, reduce waste across supply chains and support sustainability — but only if limits and regulation are applied.

With such an abundance of intelligence, it’s clear that our priorities in actively using AI have changed since its inception.

Several clear messages emerged:

• AI isn’t neutral — how it’s used, scaled and regulated determines whether it creates long-term value or harm.
• Scale comes with material costs — the hidden cost of AI is physical, not digital. This includes energy demand, water use, pollution, noise and electronic waste linked to data centre growth.
• Artificial General Intelligence (AGI) promises should be challenged — repeated predictions about imminent breakthroughs have consistently shifted, raising questions about whether continued scaling alone will deliver solutions to complex problems.
• Regulation and transparency don’t block innovation, they enable it. Clear reporting on energy and water usage and oversight of AI deployment were positioned as essential foundations for trust.
• More frugal and targeted AI is often enough, with smaller models delivering practical benefits while using a fraction of the resources.

The message that Patricia ended on was that the future of AI isn’t inevitable. It has to be actively shaped through collaboration, regulation and intentional design — with sustainability treated as a shared responsibility.

Panel one: Tech for Good — Turning Innovation into Impact

The first panel explored how emerging technologies are already being applied to address environmental and structural challenges — particularly across climate, energy and food systems.

Simon Lewis (Brabners), Anne Jones (IBM Research), Mark Bjornsgaard (Deep Green) and Paul Myers (Farm Urban) shared real-world examples of AI and data-driven technologies in action, including:

• Geospatial AI supporting climate modelling, flood monitoring, wildfire detection and biodiversity protection, with models trained on satellite data and adapted for multiple use cases.
• Smaller, more efficient AI models that are aimed at reducing energy demand and data transfer by processing information closer to where it’s generated.
• Heat reuse from data centres where excess heat is captured and redirected into local infrastructure such as leisure centres, housing and public facilities.
• Controlled-environment agriculture using technology to grow food with significantly reduced water use, land requirements and waste, while improving nutritional consistency of produce.

A recurring theme was that sustainability gains often align with commercial efficiency. Solutions that reduce waste, energy loss or resource dependency can lower costs while delivering social value.

However, speakers also stressed that progress won’t happen without:

• Moving away from siloed thinking and treating technology as part of interconnected systems.
• Designing infrastructure that works with communities, rather than shifting impacts elsewhere.
• Scaling through partnerships and long-term experimentation, not short-term hype.
• Working collaboratively with governments and institutions alike for sustainable use of technology.

The panel made it clear that innovation at scale depends on both technical capability and how well solutions fit into existing economic and social structures.

Panel two: Data Centres & Quantum Computing — Powering the Next Digital Revolution

The second panel focused on the infrastructure underpinning digital transformation — particularly data centres and the emerging role of quantum computing.

Key takeaways from the discussion between Kate Venables (Brabners), Adam Nethersole (Kao Data), Oscar Wallis (STFC), Sharon Abram (SLR Consulting) and Stefano Mensa (Nvidia) include:

• Data centres are essential but often misunderstood — while they underpin everyday digital services and research, their environmental footprint varies widely depending on location, design and cooling technology.
• Context matters — energy use, water consumption and sustainability performance differ significantly by region and headline statistics often don’t reflect that nuance.
• Quantum computing isn’t replacing classical computing — it’s developing alongside it. Quantum systems act as accelerators for specific problem types and will remain integrated with high-performance computing environments.
• Future security challenges are already visible, particularly around encryption and the long-term impact quantum capability may have on existing cryptographic standards. AI is now a reality and if the UK wants to maintain sovereign data, this will require sustained investment and coordinated thinking from the government.
• Infrastructure investment supports regional growth, creating skilled jobs, education pathways and research ecosystems when it’s aligned with local institutions.

The panel also highlighted that infrastructure decisions are shaped by demand — from consumers, businesses and public services — and sustainable outcomes rely on joined up action across industry, government and education.

Panel three: AI & Emerging Tech — Innovating Sustainably for Tomorrow

The final panel featuring Rosie Djurovic (Brabners), Katie Atkinson (University of Liverpool), Umang Patel (Microsoft) and Rashik Parmar MBE explored what responsible innovation looks like in practice, particularly as AI becomes embedded across healthcare, education, employment and decision-making.

Several consistent messages came through:

• Responsible AI starts with asking better questions, including how technology affects individuals, communities and the environment — not just whether it’s efficient or cost-effective.
• Unintended consequences are a real risk, from biased outcomes and surveillance to over automation and loss of human oversight.
• Governance can’t be a one-off exercise — AI systems evolve, so accountability has to evolve with them.
• Explainability builds trust, allowing users and decision‑makers to understand how systems work and why outcomes occur.
• Human judgement still matters, especially in high impact areas like healthcare, education, legal services and employment.

The panel also looked at how access to AI is shaping the next generation, with students and workers increasingly expected to use these tools. Embedding responsibility, sustainability and critical thinking early was seen as essential for long-term resilience.

There was broad agreement that AI’s greatest value lies in augmenting human capability — freeing up time, improving access and supporting better decisions — as long as organisations remain accountable for how systems are designed and deployed.

Looking ahead

A consistent theme across the day was that the challenge isn’t capability, it’s intent. Technological progress isn’t just about what’s possible — it’s about what’s prioritised. Sustainable, responsible innovation requires long-term thinking, transparency and collaboration across sectors, disciplines and communities. Whether it’s infrastructure, healthcare, climate response or education, the technologies discussed are already shaping what comes next.

The challenge and the opportunity is making sure that they shape it in ways that are intentional, equitable and resilient.

The organisations that win won’t be the ones with the best models — it’ll be the ones with the clearest thinking on how to use them.

Talk to us

How technology’s designed, governed and deployed today will shape its long-term impact — commercially, socially and environmentally.

Businesses working in AI, data infrastructure and emerging tech are facing critical decisions, often with regulation, sustainability and innovation pulling in different directions. As a certified B Corp, we’re committed to responsible, transparent and genuinely sustainable business practices and we bring that same approach to the organisations that we support.

Our technology team combines deep expertise in emerging tech, AI governance, sustainability frameworks and intellectual property protection. We help businesses to navigate complex regulation, protect and commercialise innovation, secure investment and build models that align with both growth and long-term resilience.

Talk to our team by calling 0333 004 4488, emailing hello@brabners.com or completing our contact form below.