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The Executive Exchange
The Executive Exchange

Water Meets AI: AI 101 for Water Professionals and the Water-AI Nexus with John Ikeda, Chief Mission Officer of the Water Environment Federation

28 July 2026 14:49 Isle

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About this episode

In this episode of the Exec Exchange podcast, host Piers Clark speaks with John Ikeda, Chief Mission Officer at the Water Environment Federation (WEF). The conversation explores the emerging Water–AI Nexus™: how AI’s explosive growth intersects with water use in data centers and how AI can be harnessed to solve complex water and wastewater challenges. John traces his unconventional path from journalism and microfinance to global water work at the World Bank and WEF, and explains why WEF convened utilities, hyperscalers, and academics to align on shared principles for sustainable water use and AI deployment. The episode covers insight reports on data center cooling and utility AI use cases, the risks of AI, and how AI can instead act as an operator co‑pilot that makes frontline work more efficient, attractive, and impactful. John also introduces WEF’s free “AI 101 for Water Professionals” course and closes with leadership advice about embracing imperfect answers and building consensus to drive real change.

00:00 Introductions
00:35 Meet John Ikeda: how water found him
01:58 What is the Water Environment Federation and John’s role as Chief Mission Officer
03:52 Launching the Water–AI Nexus and why the AI and water communities need each other
05:31 Data centers, water–energy trade‑offs, and making reuse the default for cooling
07:40 AI for utilities: operator co‑pilots, workforce impacts, and creating real market signals
10:22 The potential in an unconstrained world
11:31 “AI 101 for Water Professionals” and how water leaders can get started today
13:05 Final Thoughts and Advice

To learn more and access the resources, visit the Water–AI Nexus™ Center of Excellence website at water-ai-nexus.org

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