AI and the Energy Race: Powering the Next Industrial Revolution
Organisations can run operations without hurting people, with maximum uptime, and total reliability. That was the resounding message from ‘The AI Impact: Transforming the Global Energy System’ on day three of ADIPEC.
“The scale of AI’s potential is unlike anything I have seen in three decades. In my early career, we would chase 1–3% improvements in performance,” said Darryl Willis, Corporate VP, and Energy and Resources Industry at Microsoft. “With AI, we’re now seeing 10, 20, even 30% gains, and in back-office processes, up to 70%. Five years ago, those numbers would have sounded insane. Today, they’re reality.”
He believes the era of “100% reliable operations” is within reach. “That’s what’s possible when AI meets energy.”
“With AI, we’re now seeing 10, 20, even 30% gains, and in back-office processes, up to 70%. Five years ago, those numbers would have sounded insane. Today, they’re reality.”
Jake Loosararian, Co-Founder and CEO of Gecko Robotics, agreed and hinted at robotics as the next era of growth, likening it to the “ChatGPT moment.” “Where there are AI officers today, there will be robotics officers in the next few years,” said Loosararian, who has signed three deals with ADNOC to accelerate AI, robotics, and skills training.
Yet the pace of change, the two panelists argued, will be dictated by the quality of data, and the resilience of infrastructure. “The US Department of Energy has said there’s about four to five years of useful life left for the infrastructure that powers the grid,” Loosararian said. “That should shock everybody. The reliability of the grid is existential; it will determine geopolitics, trade, elections, and even people’s livelihoods.”
Loosararian’s robots, machines that can climb, fly, walk, and swim, collect high-resolution data from industrial systems, providing the digital feedstock for AI. “We’ve had amazing algorithms for years,” he said. “But the feedstock of data is what’s holding back impact in the industrial and energy sectors. Robots that gather that data in the real world, turning atoms into bits, are the key to transforming how we power the planet.”
“Never before has energy been so central to competitiveness,” he added. “If your energy system can’t keep up, it doesn’t matter how good your AI models are.”
For Loosararian, the world faces a paradox: “AI innovation is outpacing the planet’s ability to power it.” Replacing infrastructure is too slow and too costly; the priority must be extending the life of what already exists. “Building new infrastructure is great, but it won’t save our day,” he said. “The key is getting more production out of existing assets; robots are the doctors of the built world.”
Efficiency and reinvention
The energy industry is at a turning point, one where urgency must meet partnership. “It’s about efficiency and reinvention,” Willis said. “The energy industry must solve for more energy, fewer emissions, and faster delivery. The only way to do that is through partnership.”
He traced the evolution from Chief Information Officers to Chief Technology Officers, and Chief Digital Officers. “Now we have Chief AI Officers, and we’ll soon have Chief Robotics Officers,” he noted. “Every process must be reimagined to deliver safe, reliable, and affordable energy.”
Microsoft is also applying AI to its own footprint. “We need energy for AI, but we also need AI for energy,” Willis said. “We’re using AI to improve data-centre design, to manage water and power consumption, and to accelerate deployment of carbon-free, low-carbon, and no-carbon energy, from green steel, to geothermal and nuclear.”
When energy companies become tech companies
Loosararian’s Gecko Robotics recently signed three deals with ADNOC to deploy robotics and AI across the UAE’s energy assets. “We came here because of the UAE’s bold vision,” he said. “Dr. Sultan Al Jaber is one of the few energy leaders who truly sees that the companies that win won’t just use technology; they’ll become technology companies.”
That transformation, he explained, means becoming “AI-native”: digitising physical systems, creating unified data architectures, and embedding AI into every operational layer. “It’s a big undertaking,” he said, “but it’s also the only way to stay ahead.”
Willis added that he sees no contradiction between energy firms becoming tech companies, and tech firms partnering with them. “Microsoft doesn’t want to be an energy company,” he said. “We want to be an energy partner. This is about collaboration, not competition.”
“The most important decision now is to value data as much as the models. Without high-fidelity data, AI will hallucinate, and the fatigue that follows could derail progress.”
The urgency of action
Both speakers ended on a note of urgency. “The most important decision now is to value data as much as the models. Without high-fidelity data, AI will hallucinate, and the fatigue that follows could derail progress,” Loosararian said.
Willis agreed, “Pick the right partners, and move fast. If you’ve got a six-month plan, make it six weeks. If you’ve got a one-year plan, make it one month. Time is of the essence.”
The panel was moderated by Lenah Hassaballa, Editor at CNN Business Arabic.
