At Civo Navigate London 2025, we hosted a panel discussion with Josh Mesout, James Faure, Abdul Hummaida, Jonas Vermeulen, and Daniel Miodovnik to discuss the latest trends and challenges in AI adoption. Through this conversation, the panelists covered topics such as the current state of AI adoption to the challenges of scaling AI, and the future of work.

To watch this full discussion, check out the recording below šŸ‘‡

In this blog, we will be exploring the core takeaways from this discussion and how it is impacting the rapidly evolving landscape of artificial intelligence.

The UK needs to invest in AI talent and infrastructure to remain competitive

The discussion highlighted the need for the UK to invest in AI talent and infrastructure to remain competitive in the global AI landscape. The panelists noted that the UK has a strong foundation in AI research and development, but that there is a need for more investment in AI education and training programs to develop the next generation of AI talent.

ā€œTalent is a big thingā€¦ Over the last 5 years, due to the demand for natural language processing, techniques for LLMs are where all the demand for data scientists is. Anyone trying to get into agentic AI now is either one from a very small pool of experienced NPL people or has only been working on this for two or three years, and they donā€™t have this big production experience or know how you actually make these systems go from a PC to highly scalable on enterprise databases.

Itā€™s a very challenging kind of skill set. I think there needs to be a lot more funding put into enhancing peopleā€™s skills of natural language processing, working with those sorts of data sets.ā€ - James Faure, Founder and CEO of Clairo AI

The need for investment in AI talent and infrastructure was a recurring theme among the panelists, with others sharing similar concerns and recommendations. As one panelist noted:

ā€œAs an AI developer, you need access to infrastructure (the ability to fine-tune and continue to develop), and you need talentā€¦ I think weā€™re experiencing one of the most challenging periods in the technology sector in the UK - AI, in a way, has compounded by shifting the need for skill sets. Probably 18 months to 2 years ago, AI was probably the fifth most sought-after skill set in the industry. Today, itā€™s the first.ā€ - Abdul Hummaida, Founder and CTO of Convecta

Another central part of this conversation was the need for the UK to develop its own AI infrastructure, including data centers and cloud infrastructure, to support the growth of AI in the country. They noted that this will require significant investment, but that it is essential for the UK to remain competitive and to ensure that it can develop its own AI capabilities.

ā€œOn the infrastructure side, I think itā€™s important because that funding will allow for the UK to determine its own destiny by building out the infrastructure to keep all the data local to have the sovereignty here in the country.ā€ - Jonas Vermeulen, Sales Engineer Lead at Nokia

This underscores the need for the UK to invest in AI talent and infrastructure to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving global AI landscape. By doing so, the UK can ensure that it has the skills, capabilities, and infrastructure necessary to harness the full potential of AI and drive future growth and innovation.

Building sustainable AI solutions is critical to the future of AI

Earlier at the event, Mark Boost, CEO of Civo, spoke about the industrial revolution and the importance of sustainability. This led to a wider discussion during the AI panel, whereby the panelists spoke about the need for businesses to build sustainable AI solutions that are aware of the challenges associated with AI, including energy consumption and environmental impact.

ā€œI think from a sustainability perspective in this country, we need to have a conversation about nuclear. The UK is a leader in small-scale modular reactors, which youā€™re seeing for behind-the-grid power. Do we want to continue to incentivize and invest in that so the UK can become a world leader in exporting that technology? What do we do about the buildout of nuclear power in this country to see the huge advantages that other countries, such as France, have had?

So, I think thereā€™s going to be some tough conversations about what sustainability means. You see a lot of data centers using renewables or power purchase agreements that offset with renewables, but that is actually a finite amount from a scalability perspective. I think we need to have a serious conversation about what sustainability means for our power grid and how rapidly we can scale that up to meet the workloads that we want to have running in this country.ā€ - Daniel Miodovnik, COO at Orbital Materials

This led to further discussions on the need for businesses to prioritize sustainability when developing AI solutions and to consider the long-term implications of their AI initiatives. They also highlighted the importance of investing in research and development to improve the sustainability of AI.

ā€œI think when you look at the data centers themselves, more recent and new data center development typically has green initiatives that do with it and incentives to be more sustainable. But, I think thereā€™s an opportunity for research around the orchestration layer in terms of the model itself and how it runs. So, what I mean by that is opportunities for figuring our intent of what the model wants to do and potentially configuring the model to run in a more efficient mode.ā€ - Abdul Hummaida, Founder and CTO of Convecta

As the AI landscape continues to evolve, it is clear that building sustainable AI solutions will be critical to ensuring that the benefits of AI are realized while minimizing its environmental impact. By prioritizing sustainability and investing in research and development, businesses can help shape a more environmentally conscious future for AI and drive long-term growth and innovation.

Securing AI is a critical component of responsible AI adoption

As AI continues to evolve and become more integrated into our daily lives, security remains a top concern. The panel discussion at Civo Navigate London 2025 highlighted the importance of safeguarding AI systems, particularly when using public models.

James Faure, Founder and CEO of Clairo AI, emphasized the need to be intentional when using public AI models like Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT.

"You need to be quite intentional about how you use something such as Microsoft Copilot or ChatGPT. If you've got a piece of confidential data, you should really think twice about putting it in thereā€¦ Once it's out, it's gone. You can't purge it. It's stuck on the servers."

Josh Mesout, Chief Innovation Officer at Civo, suggested a simple exercise to demonstrate the potential risks.

ā€œA really good exercise Iā€™d tell people to do is go to ChatGPT and say, ā€˜look at your previous conversations, and complete this form for meā€™. What you put in that form is everything you want ChatGPT to tell you. A lot of people are shocked youā€™re able to refine an awful lot of information about someone from the conversations theyā€™ve put into an LLM.ā€

To mitigate these risks, businesses must prioritize security when developing and implementing AI solutions. This includes ensuring the secure handling of sensitive data, implementing robust access controls, and regularly monitoring AI systems for potential vulnerabilities.

Summary

The panel discussion at Civo Navigate London 2025 highlighted the need for the UK to invest in AI talent and infrastructure, build sustainable AI solutions, and prioritize security when developing and implementing AI systems. As the AI landscape continues to evolve, it is clear that addressing these challenges will be crucial to harnessing the full potential of AI and driving future growth and innovation.

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