Towards energy-aware digital services and green AI

– My new position focuses on developing AI and machine learning methods that enhance the efficiency, scalability, and sustainability of high-performance computing systems by optimising performance while reducing energy consumption and lowering operational costs. This research directly supports the University of Vaasa’s focus on sustainable business and energy. Moreover, the work benefits society by enabling energy-aware digital services, Liu says.

Liu’s research connects to several major societal debates surrounding the future of AI, particularly privacy, sustainability, and responsible deployment of AI systems.

– Modern AI systems require privacy and demand substantial computational resources and energy. Developing methods that enable privacy preserving and efficient data processing, determine optimal locations for computation, and reduce the computational burden of AI models is essential for achieving energy-efficient intelligent systems, Liu explains.

More precisely, Liu’s current research topics focus on AI-driven data analytics, large language model (LLM) reasoning, agent systems, and edge intelligence, including distributed learning, task offloading, and efficient inference. The research can benefit both the research community, industrial partners, and society. The developed methods and tools will be open access and can be directly applied in real-world AI systems across multiple sectors.

– For example, distributed learning and edge–cloud computation enables organisations to deploy AI closer to where data is generated, which could benefit industries such as healthcare and autonomous systems, where data privacy and low latency are critical. Energy-efficient AI focus on efficient inference supports the development of sustainable digital services. Industries operating large-scale AI pipelines can reduce both operational costs and environmental impact.

In her new role, Liu is looking forward to collaborating with other researchers, contributing to teaching and collaborating with external partners to generate impactful outcomes for society.

– I would like to express my sincere appreciation to the university community and the stakeholders who have funded this position. Your support not only advances my career development but also enables the pursuit of cutting-edge research that addresses pressing societal and industrial challenges, from energy-efficient computing to responsible AI deployment. I look forward to working together to build an innovative and sustainable research environment, Liu concludes.