Transcript
Christophe Beck (0:00)
AI is transforming industries, but the data centers powering it require more energy and water than ever. At the break, join Christophe Beck, Chairman and CEO of Ecolab, for insights on using water effectively while safeguarding this critical resource for future generations.
Julie Chang (0:16)
Here's your afternoon TNB Tech minute for Thursday, January 8th. I'm Julie Chang for the Wall Street Journal. Walmart has launched a digital network of healthcare providers. The platform, called Better Care Services, offers same day consultation with third party provide providers for urgent care and behavioral health. It also has access to Lilly Direct, Eli Lilly and company's digital platform for managing diabetes, obesity and migraines. Walmart said Better Care Services also includes a nutrition hub, which provides personalized food and recipe recommendations. Powered by AI, the retail giant added that it's also reducing prices on some health focused goods. Universal Music Group, the company behind Lady Gaga and Taylor Swift, will strike more AI deals that can benefit its artists. That's according to a New Year memo to staff written by its CEO. The company has entered into AI related agreements with platforms such as YouTube, Meta and TikTok, as well as emerging AI companies like Udio, BandLab and Stability AI. Finally, while tech shares have been stumbling lately, Alphabet's keeps on climbing. Shares of the Google parent were up about 1% Thursday, on pace for the first record close since late November, even as the IT sector in the S&P 500 was down more than 1.5%. The company's market capitalization is now close to $4 trillion, reflecting a growing belief among investors that the tech giant can outduel competitors like OpenAI. The November release of Google's latest Gemini model outperformed OpenAI's ChatGPT on a variety of measures, sending Alphabet's stock soaring. For a deeper dive into what's happening in tech, check out Friday's Tech News Briefing podcast.
Christophe Beck (2:04)
How are data center operators working to improve sustainability and water savings at every stage of the data center lifecycle? Here's Ecolabs Christophe Beck with some thoughts.
Ecolab Executive (2:13)
The Mach 7 or the Mach 4 are the ones who are really so focused on high tech are the most forward looking. They have the means, they have the mindset, they have the passion for innovation and they're really open to try new things as well because everything is new with AI with that technology as well. I think even if we're not where we wanted to be with that industry right now, we will be ahead in the next few years because innovation that's coming up right now is working much better than we thought and it's really thinking in circular ways being in a data center or in a microchip manufacturing plant.