Boomer businessman's surprising advice to young Aussies about AI
Deane Russell, who directs strategy with an NT iron ore company, was stopped by a street interviewer outside Sydney 's Intercontinental Hotel.
He told Street MBA on TikTok that a steady head and persistence would pay off for those looking to get into the world of business.
Mr Russell said AI would present immeasurable new opportunities for entrepreneurs.
'Importantly, young people, I'm telling you now, AI is the way you need to be thinking,' he said in a TikTok video shared this week.
Mr Russell said he used the first ever Mac computer, operating with a 128kilobytes, 3.5 inch floppy disk when it came out.
He used the Mac to create a spreadsheet that accurately predicted the outcome of a business event, having never used a computer before.
'Everybody said computers were going to change the world and everybody's going to lose their job. No it created a new universe,' he said.
'AI is going to create a new universe. You're at the very beginning of a wave of a new universe.'
Mr Russell said he has four grandchildren, the eldest of whom is three-years-old.
'They will live in a different universe by the time they're 50,' he said.
Aside from computing, Mr Russell said entrepreneurs needed to be ready to battle the 'egos' in business and remain true to their own missions.
Many agreed with the businessman's advice.
'Agree, I was there at the start of PCs and AI is bigger than boomer times, go make a new world millennials,' one wrote.
'Some great advice,' a second said.
'This man said it right, your own self-esteem is most important,' a third added.
Others shared fears about AI taking their jobs.
'AI [is] about to take 90 per cent of jobs, pick a job that computers can't do. Trades are the safest bet going forward for young kids,' one wrote.
'People are dramatically underestimating the impact of AI and robots. If you sit at a computer, your job is over very soon,' another said.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
20 minutes ago
- Reuters
Spear AI raises first round of funding to apply AI to submarine data
SAN FRANCISCO, July 25 (Reuters) - A startup founded by U.S. Navy veterans aiming to help the U.S. military use artificial intelligence to decipher data gathered by submarines has raised its first round of outside capital. Washington-based Spear AI specializes in working with what is known as passive acoustic data, which is gathered by listening devices underwater. Its long-term aim is to use AI to help submarine operators understand whether an object heard could be a rain squall, a whale, or a vessel that could be a threat, and to detect where it is and how fast it is moving. The challenge is that most existing AI tools are trained on data such as words or images that have been painstakingly labeled and organized over years or decades by companies such as Scale AI, which recently signed a $14.8-billion deal with Meta Platforms. Data from acoustic sensors is different. Spear AI co-founders Michael Hunter, a former U.S. Navy SEAL analyst, and John McGunnigle, a former nuclear submarine commander for the U.S. Navy, are building a hardware and software platform that aims to prepare that data for AI algorithms. The company sells sensors that can be attached to buoys or vessels and a software tool to help label and sort the data gathered by the sensors to make it ready to be put into AI systems. The U.S. Navy this month awarded Spear AI a $6-million contract for its data-labeling tool. Spear AI, founded in 2021, has been self-funded and has about 40 employees. Hunter, the CEO, said it raised $2.3 million from AI-focused venture firm Cortical Ventures and private equity firm Scare the Bear. The funding will be used to double the company's headcount to support its government contracts and commercial business prospects, such as monitoring underwater pipelines and cables. Hunter said Spear AI also aims to sell consulting services, a model similar to defense tech firm Palantir (PLTR.O), opens new tab. "We wanted to build the product and actually get it out the door before the contract came in to get it," Hunter told Reuters. "The only way you can do that is with private capital."
Finextra
2 hours ago
- Finextra
The AI energy crisis: Why chatbots are using up our drinking water
0 This content has been selected, created and edited by the Finextra editorial team based upon its relevance and interest to our community. Just this week, the Trump administration has introduced its new 'AI Action Plan' with the direct aim to speed up the adoption of AI and the build of more data centres, all the while cutting regulation to enable this. As the world continues its AI race, how much is too much? Concerns have long been raised about the amount of energy AI uses. The International Energy Agency has stated that, by 2030, electricity demand for AI-optimised data centres is forecast to more than quadruple. Similarly, increasingly large amounts of water are required to produce the energy needed to power AI. On top of that, data centres themselves have started using water in order to cope with the boom in AI usage. Historically, data centres have used air cooling systems, which was sufficient to cool systems up until AI came along. Now, air cooling is no longer enough to prevent systems from overheating. Generative AI uses up to 33 times more energy than machines running task-specific software, which is why liquid cooling mechanisms have been implemented in many data centres. The problem with liquid cooling, however, is that it relies on clean water in order to prevent corrosion to the systems or the growth of bacteria. The solution: Drinking water. And while the water used in the cooling mechanism is designed to be re-introduced into the natural water source, up to 80% evaporates in the process. 'What this means is that this type of water is gone, and we are extracting water from a water circuit that is necessary for irrigation, for human consumption and hygiene,' Lorena Jaume-Palasí, founder of the Ethical Tech Society, commented in the BBC. Dr Venkatesh Uddameri, an expert in water resources management, is additionally quoted stating that a 'typical data centre can use between 11 million and 19 million litres of water per day, roughly the same as a town of 30,000 to 50,000 people.' Data centres put pressure on the water sources of local communities While many tech giants like Microsoft, Facebook and Google have pledged to be water neutral by 2030, AI has changed the equation. One of the latest concerns has been Elon Musk's self-proclaimed 'largest data centre in the world' for xAI, Colossus, build in Memphis in 2024. Apart from sidestepping environmental laws, the 'expected water demand is 5+ million gallons per day in an area where arsenic pollution threatens the drinking water supply,' according to a local non-profit concerned about the data centre's environmental impact. Memphis is not alone. Research by Bloomberg News found that in the US, 'two thirds of new data centres built or in development since 2022 are in places already gripped by high levels of water stress.' In the UK, Prime Minister Starmer aims to become a world leader in AI, having pledged a £2 billion investment to data centre growth and digital skills development. However, some of these centres are proposed to be built in areas already under threat of water shortages. On top of that, the government has designated data centres as 'critical national infrastructure', which means they will face fewer planning restrictions than traditional developments. How do we fix the AI water problem? There is good news as well, which is that companies are already working on technology to be more water efficient. Closed-loop and immersion cooling are being adopted by companies like Microsoft in order to implement zero-water cooling systems. Closed-loop cooling eliminates the need for evaporating water, allowing systems to re-circulate coolants continuously. Immersion cooling is another technique applied, which sees servers submerged in non-conductive fluids. According to DataCentre, 'these fluids either circulate passively or follow a two-phase process, evaporating to absorb heat and condensing for reuse. There are no pumps, fans or water involved.' Communities around the world are urging their governments to ensure water and energy are part of the equastion. In the UK, the Royal Academy of Engineering has asked the government to ensure tech companies accurately report how much water and energy their data centres are using as the country gears up to become a 'world leader in AI.' The report also asks to introduce sustainability requirements for all data centres, including the move to zero-water cooling in order to preserve precious fresh water reserves. The crucial step is ensuring the water problem is being considered industry-wide, and that companies are being held accountable for their water and energy usage, as well as their dedication toward reducing their environmental impact. Unchecked AI expansion will only move us closer to Day Zero.
Reuters
2 hours ago
- Reuters
Economists doubt Trump outlook that US will sell 'so much' beef to Australia
WASHINGTON/CANBERRA/CHICAGO, July 24 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said that the United States would sell "so much" beef to Australia after Canberra relaxed import restrictions on Thursday, but economists and traders said that high prices and tight supplies make major American exports unlikely. Australia said it would loosen biosecurity rules for U.S. beef. The move will not significantly increase U.S. shipments, though, because Australia is a major beef producer and exporter whose prices are much lower, analysts said. U.S. companies export small quantities of beef to Australian buyers. They import much more in the form of lean beef used to make hamburgers, particularly as U.S. production has declined due to tight cattle supplies. U.S. beef prices set records this year and the number of beef cattle fell to the lowest level since 1961 after ranchers slashed their herds due to drought that burned up pasturelands used for grazing. A ban on cattle imports from Mexico because of New World screwworm, a devastating livestock pest, and steep tariffs on Brazilian beef that are set to take effect on Aug. 1 could further tighten supplies, and require additional imports of Australian beef. "We can't get enough beef in the U.S. right now, so we're bringing it in from Australia and Brazil," said Dan Norcini, an independent U.S. livestock trader. "We're not going to be selling anything significant to anyone." Last year, Australia shipped almost 400,000 metric tons of beef worth $2.9 billion to the United States, with just 269 tons of U.S. product moving the other way. "They have more cattle than people," said David Anderson, an agricultural economist at Texas A&M University. "That's why they export so much." U.S. and Australian beef also taste different. Many Australians like the grass-fed beef raised there, not marbled beef from U.S.-raised cattle that are generally fed with grain, said Jerry Klassen, chief analyst for Resilient Capital in Winnipeg. He predicted the United States will not export substantial amounts of beef to Australia in the next five years. "We just aren't in a position to export much beef to anyone, and the reality is Australia doesn't really have much need for U.S. beef," said Karl Setzer, partner at Consus Ag. The barriers that remain to exporting significant volumes of U.S. beef to Australia appeared to be lost on Trump this week. "We are going to sell so much to Australia because this is undeniable and irrefutable Proof that U.S. Beef is the Safest and Best in the entire World," Trump said in a post on Truth Social. "The other Countries that refuse our magnificent Beef are ON NOTICE." Trump has attempted to renegotiate trade deals with numerous countries he says have taken advantage of the United States – a characterisation many economists dispute. "For decades, Australia imposed unjustified barriers on U.S. beef," U.S. Trade Representative Jamieson Greer said in a statement, calling Australia's decision a "major milestone in lowering trade barriers and securing market access for U.S. farmers and ranchers." Australian officials say the relaxation of restrictions was not part of any trade negotiations but the result of a years-long assessment of U.S. biosecurity practices. Canberra has restricted U.S. beef imports since 2003 due to concerns about bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), or mad cow disease. Since 2019, it has allowed in meat from animals born, raised and slaughtered in the U.S. but few suppliers were able to prove that their cattle had not been in Canada and Mexico. The U.S. sources some of its feeder cattle from the two neighboring countries. On Wednesday, Australia's agriculture ministry said U.S. cattle traceability and control systems had improved enough that Australia could accept beef from cattle born in Canada or Mexico and slaughtered in the United States. The decision has caused some concern in Australia, where biosecurity is seen as essential to prevent diseases and pests from ravaging the farm sector. "We need to know if (the government) is sacrificing our high biosecurity standards just so Prime Minister Anthony Albanese can obtain a meeting with U.S. President Donald Trump," shadow agriculture minister David Littleproud said in a statement. Australia faces a 10% across-the-board U.S. tariff, as well 50% tariffs on steel and aluminium. Trump has also threatened to impose a 200% tariff on pharmaceuticals. Asked whether the change would help achieve a trade deal, Australian Trade Minister Don Farrell said: "I'm not too sure." "We haven't done this in order to entice the Americans into a trade agreement," he said. "We think that they should do that anyway."
