David Jones: “It’s not AI that will kill us, but inaction on climate change”

This article was originally published in English

David Jones needs no introduction in the world of advertising. Former CEO of Havas, one of the largest communications groups in the world, he then decided to go into business for himself to create the Brandtech group – one of the first marketing companies to use generative AI, in 2015, and which is now worth nearly 4 billion dollars (3.7 billion euros).

And his approach to AI does not necessarily match that of others.

“We often hear that AI is going to kill us.“, he laments. “I then answer that this is probably not the case but that What’s going to kill us is climate change if we don’t act“.

“In fact, if you feed all the data into AI models and ask them if they should do something about it, they’ll all say, “You should probably act on this really quickly, or you’re going to disappear“.

What is One Young World Charity?

David Jones acknowledges being “well born“. He therefore believes that it is his responsibility to take advantage of this opportunity to be able to act.

In 2009, together with his Havas colleague Kate Robertson, David Jones founded One Young World, a charitable organisation who supports the young leaders bearers of change.

The organization is particularly interested in thegender equalityto the refugee issue, but remains primarily focused on climate.

“Everything Kofi said [Annan] in 2009“, says David Jones, “we don’t do it“.

“I have always believed that it is possible to use creativity to change people’s behavior in the face of some of the major problems facing the world..

“That’s why when I was asked to help Kofi Annan with his climate campaign [en 2009]I immediately said yes, but that’s also why we created One Young World, believing we could empower bright young leaders around the world to drive change.“, David Jones tells Euronews Green.

Fifteen years later, One Young World is one of the largest charities in its field and provides the most significant support to young people leading initiatives related to sustainable development goals.

Who are the young leaders of One Young World?

“One Young World Ambassadors have impacted the lives of over 50 million people since we began in 2009“, assures David Jones.

Piipee is a company Brazilian founded by Ezequiel Vedana da Rosa to combat water waste. Its biodegradable spray neutralizes urine and sanitizes toilets without the need to flush. One ml of Piipee can replace a toilet flush, making it possible tosave 10 liters of water.

Since 2015, Piipee has attracted 200,000 users. On average, people and companies using the product have reported a reduction of 35% of their water bills.

EnRoute is an application developed by Angela Busheska in Macedonia to educate users on how to make choices more sustainable in purchasing and transportation. The app allows users to scan a garment in a store and receive a detailed sustainability analysis as well as suggestions for more environmentally friendly alternatives.

Xilinat was founded by 18-year-old Javier Larragoiti in Mexico. The company offers an affordable, sustainable and healthy alternative to sugar, produced by fermenting wasted corn cobs, to combat obesity and manage diabetes, while eliminating carbon emissionslinked to industrial levels of waste agricultural.

Watch the video above to learn more about David Jones and One Young World.

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Video editor • Joanna Adhem