What the New York Times series, and the general literature available indicates to me is that while the concept of AI has existed for a long time, we are nonetheless in a real technology renaissance, where all the ingredients for innovation within AI are converging. This whitepaper by Accenture https://www.accenture.com/us-en/insights/artificial-intelligence-summary-index#:~:text=Because%20of%20the%20proliferation%20of,realize%20they%20had%20until%20now. shows that this acceleration in the technology has prompted increased integration into all areas of business. It is this integration that is prompting further innovation. AI is not a technology in a vacuum, but a product with real business value. The article was especially interesting as it demonstrates the universal nature of the technology, very much akin to how the internet existed for many years, but was under used until the first web browser came along.

I agree - you raise a good question. I wonder in terms of modelling how we can predict the carbon costs of something like a construction project. How can we include these third world carbon estimates as they contribute to the global supply chain?