{"podcast":{"title":"Elephants in the Boardroom","slug":"elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705","podcast_index_feed_id":7203705,"rss_url":"https://feeds.captivate.fm/eitb/","website_url":"https://eitb.captivate.fm","image_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/cabeb9ed-d0dc-4c17-9454-9a42eb6920d5/g-b3imy548fmzbqc2m2rabx3.jpg","author":"TomorrowToday Consulting","episode_count":17,"summary":"A podcast about the powerful forces transforming our world. It’s not just technology that shapes the future—there are deeper, often-ignored megatrends driving disruption. These Grey Elephants are the big challenges we hope will go away but can’t afford to ignore. Elephants in the Boardroom offers a megatrend radar for leaders who want to identify tomorrow’s most important opportunities, seize advantage, and shape a better future. Join us for unflinching discussions, incisive insights, and actionable strategies to stay ahead in a rapidly changing world. Powered by Achilles.","last_synced_at":"2026-06-04T16:21:06.636032+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705"},"episode":{"title":"AI’s Power Hunger, Sovereign AI & Sand Scarcity - Lessons from South Africa (with Tom Eaton)","slug":"ai-s-power-hunger-sovereign-ai-sand-scarcity-lessons-from-south-africa-with-tom-eaton","published_at":"2025-11-07T05:00:00+00:00","page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705/ai-s-power-hunger-sovereign-ai-sand-scarcity-lessons-from-south-africa-with-tom-eaton","show_page_url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705","url":"https://elephants-boardroom.captivate.fm","audio_url":"https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/a943f720-ce38-48df-bcba-b5530d88c242.mp3","summary":"Graeme Codrington and Dean Van Leeuwen explore this month’s “grey elephants”: the collision of AI and energy demand , the strategic rise of sovereign AI , and an overlooked resource, sand . Then Graeme sits down with Cape Town–based writer and columnist Tom Eaton to unpack what the world can learn from South Africa’s last 30 years: state capture, institutional decay and repair, and why change can arrive suddenly, good or bad. Key Topics Discussed AI x Energy Data centres scaling to small-nation power loads; AI is both energy hog and grid optimizer . Two futures: grids buckle vs. AI catalyses smarter, cleaner, more resilient systems. Boardroom takeaway: align digital and energy strategies; efficiency is competitive advantage. “Cloud” in Space Big idea doing the rounds: gigawatt-scale AI training clusters off-planet. Regardless of space hype, leaders must solve earthbound energy constraints first. Sovereign AI Nations racing to control compute + energy + data to reduce dependency on rivals. Corporate echo: prove AI value, then move toward sovereign AI footprints (own models, data, infra). Sand Scarcity Specific sands for cement, silicon chips, glass are finite and ecologically costly to extract. Expect supply shocks, regulation, and materials innovation opportunities. Quiz Corner Sector with up to 60% electricity savings via AI optimization: Utilities . Companies leading in AI projected to widen revenue gap vs. peers by ~30% (near-term). Term for national AI stacks: Sovereign AI . Interview - Tom Eaton No going back : after institutional damage, restoration is slow, contested, and incomplete. Beware “liberator euphoria” : the post-crisis leader gets too much leeway; stay critical. No adults in the building : don’t assume competent saviours or self-preservation will fix s…","meta_description":"Graeme Codrington and Dean Van Leeuwen explore this month’s “grey elephants”: the collision of AI and energy demand , the strategic rise of sovereign AI ,…","key_points":[],"chapters":[],"topics":[],"duration_seconds":3544,"processing_state":"not_requested","actions":[{"name":"request_transcript","method":"POST","url":"https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705/episodes/ai-s-power-hunger-sovereign-ai-sand-scarcity-lessons-from-south-africa-with-tom-eaton/transcription-requests","description":"Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode."},{"name":"read_markdown","method":"GET","url":"https://stenobird.com/podcast/elephants-in-the-boardroom-7203705/ai-s-power-hunger-sovereign-ai-sand-scarcity-lessons-from-south-africa-with-tom-eaton.md","description":"Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource."}]}}