Sustainability Challenges with Computing: from Internet-of-Things to Datacenters

Within the next decade it is expected that the energy requirements of digital services will outstrip the world’s entire current electricity generation capacity. To a large extent, this alarming scenario will be driven by the Internet of Things (IoT): the increasing array of everyday devices – from smart TVs, through security cameras, to lighting systems, and countless modes of increasingly autonomous transport – that constantly emit and receive data. Datacenters that support these IoT devices are also significant energy hogs. Studies have shown that using either a tablet or smartphone to wirelessly watch an hour of video a week uses roughly the same amount of electricity, at the datacenter end for streaming support, as two new domestic fridges. Moreover, the operational and embodied carbon footprint of IoT devices and datacenters continues to increase, raising fundamental climate change and environmental sustainability concerns. This talk will provide a peek into the future of the IoT-driven computing revolution and its impact on energy and environmental sustainability. I will present several promising approaches to improve energy-efficiency for IoT devices, smartphones, servers, and datacenters via smart software design. Lastly, I will present open challenges and new directions in realizing a sustainable future with digital intelligence.