Embrace:AI // 2026.01 - From Compute to Impact: Designing Sustainable AI Systems

Join us for a focused evening featuring two talks on Sustainable AI and Responsible Automation. We’ll explore how AI can drive operational efficiency while making its environmental impact visible and actionable — from carbon-aware Machine Learning to workflow redesign for sustainability.
After the talks, enjoy a relaxed networking session with free drinks and pizza, and connect with Lisbon’s AI community around the future of responsible technology. 🌱

Agenda:

• 18h: Welcome and networking
• 18h30: Intro - Devoteam
• 19h00: Sustainable AI: How many breads are you toasting based on energy consumption of ML Projects (by Joana Mesquita)
• 19h30: What if your operations ran themselves and even fixed their own errors? (by Inês Boski)
• 20h00-21h30: Networking with Free Drinks & Pizza (Sponsored by Devoteam)

Join and help build the AI community in Lisbon!
RSVP now and invite your peers.

*** The lineup and speakers for the evening

Talk 1: Sustainable AI - How many breads are you toasting based on energy consumption of ML Projects?

Abstract: Artificial intelligence has emerged as a powerful enabler of sustainability, particularly in retail, where machine learning optimizes demand forecasting, supply chains, and logistics to reduce waste and emissions. However, this progress comes with a growing environmental cost: large-scale cloud infrastructure and compute-intensive ML workloads consume vast amounts of energy, contributing significantly to global carbon emissions. As organizations increasingly rely on AI to remain competitive, they face a critical challenge—how to balance innovation with environmental responsibility.

This presentation introduces a practical and transparent approach to estimating and tracking the carbon footprint of machine learning workloads running on clusters. It outlines the limitations of existing carbon accounting tools in cloud environments and describes the design of a custom Carbon Footprint Tracker that enables near–real-time monitoring with minimal performance overhead. The methodology combines regional carbon intensity data with detailed estimates of CPU, GPU, and RAM power consumption, while accounting for data center efficiency through Power Usage Effectiveness (PUE).

By translating abstract emissions metrics into intuitive, real-world equivalents, the tracker makes the environmental impact of ML jobs tangible and actionable for engineering teams. Ultimately, this work demonstrates how carbon footprint estimation can become a first-class metric alongside cost and performance, empowering teams to make informed, sustainability-driven decisions in the development and deployment of AI systems.

Bio: Joana have worn many hats in the Machine Learning field, starting as a Data Scientist, transitioning to Data Engineering, and now specializing as a Machine Learning Engineer. Joana leverage this diverse background to develop advanced Machine Learning solutions that drive innovation and enhance efficiency. Joana is passionate about empowering teams to harness AI capabilities in an ethical and environmentally responsible way.
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/joanaferreira96/

***
Talk 2: What if your operations ran themselves and even fixed their own errors?

Abstract: For the first time, we are seeing how small and medium businesses can operate at enterprise scale but without its headcount. But most companies are still stuck under an unsustainable operational weight or in building rigid automations that break the moment something unexpected happens.

In this talk, we’ll explore how sustainable growth and agentic infrastructure go together, with systems that orchestrate work, handle chaos, and self-heal. We'll walk through the DOE Framework, how workflows go from manual drudgery to autonomous execution, and see real examples of proposals drafting themselves, onboarding running overnight, operations that scale without adding headcount.

Sustainable growth isn't just about environmental impact. It's also about building companies that don't collapse under their own operational weight.

Bio: Inês Boski is the Founder & CEO of Terra Lucida, an AI systems architecture firm helping SME founders turn operational bottlenecks into automated assets. With a background in e-Governance (MScEng) and Product Management at Schibsted, Inês combines policy-level thinking with engineering rigor. Previously endorsed by the Portuguese Government for her work with Fénixhack, she now builds "Executive Automation Engines" that allow businesses to scale revenue without scaling headcount and free up human talent for high-leverage work.
Social Media:
https://www.linkedin.com/in/inês-boski/
https://www.terralucida.net

*** About our Sponsor

A big shoutout and thank you to our sponsor, Devoteam, for providing the venue, drinks, and pizza!
Devoteam is an AI-driven tech consulting firm specialised in cloud platforms, cyber, data, and sustainability.
Tech native for almost 30 years, Devoteam guides businesses through sustainable digital transformation to deliver value.
With over 11,000 tech architects in more than 25 countries across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa, Devoteam is committed to using technology to serve people.
www.devoteam.com (https://www.devoteam.com)
Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/devoteampt/
Linkedin - https://www.linkedin.com/company/devoteam/
Twitter- https://twitter.com/devoteam
Youtube - https://www.youtube.com/user/devoteam
Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/devoteampt/

*** About Embrace:AI

Join Embrace:AI, be part of an open meetup fostering a vibrant AI community that brings together engineers, researchers, data scientists, and leaders to explore cutting-edge advancements, real-world use cases, and critical topics like Responsible AI, security, and governance.
You'll have access to high-quality, non-commercial content that covers both the technical and non-technical aspects of AI. Concise, impactful presentations ensure you gain valuable insights while still having plenty of time for in-person networking.
Experience the power of face-to-face connection—meet like-minded professionals and shape the future of this transformative technology. Together, we'll embrace the limitless potential of AI.

We are looking forward to seeing you at the event!

Join and help build the AI community in Lisbon!