Resource Optimisation AI: Energy, Water & Food Systems and the Trade-offs
By Joel Leslie
Season 2, Episode 6
Duration: 00:08:35
Episode summary
When artificial intelligence starts managing the essentials of life ( energy, water, and food ), efficiency becomes more than a technical problem. It becomes an ethical one. From stabilising Australia’s power grid to allocating water in drought and forecasting global crop yields, AI is quietly shaping the systems that sustain us. But every optimisation has a cost. Because when every watt counts, ethics matters. When data drives scarcity, someone always ends up last in line. AI may feed more people, but whose table does it prioritise? In this episode of Decoded: AI for Everyone , we explore how intelligence is being built into the planet’s vital networks, and what happens when algorithms decide what stays on, what gets switched off… and why. Episode themes: Energy: AI-driven grids balancing demand, storage, and fairness. Water: Digital scarcity and why the future of water isn’t just technical... It’s ethical. Food: Feeding 10 billion people through automation and its inequalities. Trade-offs: Optimisation vs. equity in systems that decide who wins and who waits. Because every smart system is a social system first. Airs Saturday | November 8 | 2025 at 12 pm AEST RESOURCES Podcast Website : decoded-podcast.com Prompts & Tools : promptengineeringcookbook.com AI Strategy & Research : strategen-ai.com LinkedIn : linkedin.com/company/decoded-ai-for-everyone Mentioned Frameworks & Projects: • Australian Energy Market Operator (AEMO) • Tesla Autobidder • Google DeepMind for Energy • Murray–Darling Basin Authority AI Programs • UNESCO AI for Water Security • John Deere Precision Ag Tech • IBM Watson Decision Platform for Agriculture • AgriDigital • National AI Assurance Framework (Australia) • OECD AI Principles Referenced Research: Leslie, J. (2025). Resource Optimisation AI: Governance and Trade-offs in Energy, Water & Food Systems. Strategen AI Research Publications .
About Decoded: AI for Everyone
Decoded: AI for Everyone is Joel Leslie's non-technical podcast about artificial intelligence and its impact on work, creativity, decision-making, trust and everyday life. The series helps listeners understand AI without hype, jargon or fear, connecting practical examples to broader questions about technology, people and society.
Joel Leslie is an Australian AI, data and digital transformation leader specialising in safe AI adoption, AI governance, AI ethics and data governance.
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