Post by Eawag

As part of Hidden Currencies: Water Justice in the Age of AI, an extraordinary interdisciplinary conversation explored how emerging technologies are reshaping the ways water is allocated, treated, monitored, and governed 💧💡 With #AI, data centers, and digital infrastructures increasingly influencing decisions once made solely by cities, farms, and ecosystems, the panel examined both the risks and the transformative possibilities of these tools. One of the panellists was Sheena Conforti, Eawag alumni and now Postdoctoral Researcher at Stanford University. Sheena explored #wastewater as a collective health signal, demonstrating how molecular data and AI‑driven analytics can detect pathogens, track disease dynamics, and support more equitable public health decision‑making. 💡 “What makes initiatives like Hidden Currencies so important is that they create a space for dialogue beyond traditional boundaries. It brings together science, art, policy, technology, and much more. All of them are essential if we want to address the complex challenges around water and climate. “, explains Sheena. Together with the other panelists she emphasized that technological progress must be paired with justice‑centered approaches that protect communities, ecosystems, and the right to water. Hidden Currencies: Water Justice in the Age of AI, was interdisciplinary exhibition and programming series running from April through May in San Francisco. It was presented by SwissImpact (Embassy of Switzerland in the United States of America) in collaboration with AKArt Advisory, #Eawag, the Stanford Doerr School of Sustainability School Sustainability Accelerator, and the Geneva Water Hub, a Centre of Competence on Water for Peace, with support from #PresenceSwitzerland and #Eawag. 👉 Explore more about the Event series: https://lnkd.in/gP4Ss8A3 #waterjustice #digitalinfrastucture #datacenter #publichealth 📷 Arielle Lydia Buchmann, EDA