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For better or worse, AI powers the brain of infrastructure

AI is already actively deployed across power, energy, water and transport utilities, typically to improve efficiency, reduce costs and increase reliability. However, what exists today is still narrow AI. While it cannot engage with ethics, its impact is already significant and growing.

Industries are using AI to predict demand more accurately, enabling operators to anticipate changes rather than just respond to them. In power systems, machine learning (a form of narrow AI) reviews large amounts of past and real-time data to forecast load patterns and equipment performance.

The IEA’s World Energy Outlook 2025 report highlights a key forecasting challenge that weather risks like extreme heat threatened key infrastructure, causing about 85% of power line incidents in 2023. As this worsens, AI can help by improving real-time monitoring and enhancing predictive capabilities.

AI is also accelerating innovation in ways that traditional methods cannot match. Its ability to conduct multicriteria searches across massive datasets is transforming the development of new materials and technologies.

For example, in the energy sector, AI has screened tens of millions of… [fill in the form to access the full article]