AI Executives Flag Chip Shortages And Energy Limits At Milken Conference

Unpacking The AI Ecosystem’s Bottlenecks

Leaders from across the AI supply chain outlined key constraints shaping industry development during a panel at the Milken Global Conference in Beverly Hills. Discussion focused on semiconductor supply, energy requirements for data centres and limitations in current AI architectures.

Silicon Shortages And The Race For Chips

Christophe Fouquet, Chief Executive Officer of ASML, said chip production remains constrained despite increased investment. He noted that demand from companies such as Google, Microsoft, Amazon and Meta continues to exceed supply, with shortages expected to persist for two to five years.

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Data Centers And The Energy Imperative

Francis deSouza, Chief Operating Officer of Google Cloud, pointed to rising demand for computing infrastructure alongside growing energy constraints. He referenced exploration of alternative data centre models, including concepts for space-based infrastructure, while noting engineering challenges such as heat management and system efficiency.

Beyond Silicon: The Data And Real World For Autonomous Systems

Qasar Younis, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Applied Intuition, highlighted limitations in training data for autonomous systems. Real-world data across sectors such as automotive, defence and industrial applications remains difficult to replicate through simulation, creating gaps between model performance and real-world conditions.

Redefining Intelligence

Eve Bodnia, quantum physicist and founder of Logical Intelligence, presented energy-based models as an alternative to current AI systems. These models aim to capture underlying data structures more efficiently and may be applied in areas requiring modelling of physical systems.

Building Trust With Digital Workers

Dimitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer at Perplexity, described the development of AI agents as “digital workers” integrated into enterprise environments. Focus remains on access controls, security layers and monitoring systems to manage how these agents operate within organisations.

The Intersection Of AI And National Sovereignty

Discussion also addressed geopolitical considerations linked to AI deployment. Younis said physical AI systems, including autonomous vehicles and drones, introduce regulatory and security challenges. Fouquet added that semiconductor manufacturing capacity remains a constraint in global competition, including in China.

Optimism And A Path Forward

When asked about the effect of AI on future generations’ critical thinking, panelists pointed to both risks and opportunities. Francis deSouza, Chief Operating Officer of Google Cloud, said advanced tools could support creative problem-solving across areas such as healthcare and infrastructure. Dimitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer at Perplexity, noted that entry-level roles are likely to change as automation expands, while broader access to technology enables more people to build and deploy new products.

Taken together, the discussion points to a system shaped by constraints in chips, energy and data, alongside continued changes in how AI models are designed and deployed. How these factors evolve will determine the pace of adoption and the range of practical applications across industries.

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Women Make Up A Majority Of The EU’s Science And Technology Workforce But The Real Gap Is Elsewhere

by News Editor

June 25, 2026

Women now make up the majority of the EU’s science and technology workforce. According to Eurostat, in 2025, more than 81.6 million people aged 15 to 74 were employed in science and technology occupations across the EU. Of those, 52.5% were women, equal to 42.8 million women. The number of women in these occupations rose by 27.9% compared with 2015, an increase of more than 9.3 million over a decade.

On the surface, the numbers resemble progress. However, Eurostat’s category requires context before that figure can be read accurately. The data refers to HRST, or Human Resources in Science and Technology, specifically people employed in science and technology occupations. These are roles where the main tasks require professional or technical knowledge in physical and life sciences, but also in social sciences and humanities. That definition is wider and broader than engineering, ICT, laboratory science, or high-tech research alone.

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Zooming In

The gender picture changes once the data moves from a wider definition of the workforce to the narrower scientist-and-engineer (research and manufacturing) subgroup.

Scientists and engineers represented almost a quarter of all people employed in science and technology in the EU in 2025. Eurostat describes scientists and engineers as often being the innovators at the centre of technology-led development, making them an important subgroup to focus on separately.

Women accounted for only 40.8% of scientists and engineers in 2025, despite making up more than half of the wider category. That share has increased by a mere 0.5 percentage points over the past decade. The absolute number of women working as scientists and engineers rose from 5.3 million in 2015 to 8.2 million in 2025, despite the push from national and international organisations to increase the number of women in the field. Europe has expanded the number of women in science and technology occupations over ten years. However, that expansion has not extended equally into the scientist-and-engineer subgroup, where much of Europe’s research and innovation work is conducted.

In 2025, of the 39.4 million women aged 25 to 64 working in science and technology occupations in the EU, 35.5 million worked in service activities. Only 2.7 million worked in manufacturing. Women accounted for 57.5% of science and technology employment in services, but only 31.3% in manufacturing.

In 2025, the highest shares of women employed in science and technology occupations were recorded in Latvia at 62.4%, followed by Hungary’s Great Plain and North region at 61.1%, Estonia at 60.5%, Poland’s Central macroregion at 60.4%, and Lithuania at 60.3%. No EU country recorded a majority of women among science and technology workers in manufacturing.

Break-down

Eurostat’s figures measure employment in broad science and technology occupations. They do not show job security, pay levels, management roles, promotion rates, research leadership, or whether women are concentrated in junior or senior workplace positions.

The classification of “senior” also requires additional explanation. Eurostat reports that 45.9% of science and technology workers aged 25 to 64 in the EU were classified as “senior” HRST in 2025. In this dataset, “senior” refers to workers aged 45 to 64. It does not mean senior manager, senior researcher, team lead, or decision-maker.

A high female share in the wider Human Resource Science and Technology (HRST) category does not parallel equal representation across scientists, engineers, manufacturing roles, senior posts, pay, research funding, or decision-making. These figures also reflect the occupational mix inside each country or region, not only structural progress across all areas of science and technology.

The Case Of Cyprus

Eurostat data places Cyprus’s overall science and technology employment at 37.2% of the labour force in 2025, slightly above the EU-27 figure of 36.9%, and above Greece at 26.8%, Malta at 33.9%, and Turkey at 18.2%. This figure covers the total share of the labour force employed in science and technology across all genders.

Progress Or Work-in-Progress?

52.5% in the broad category. 40.8% among scientists and engineers. 31.3% in manufacturing. Europe’s gender gap in science and technology hasn’t closed yet, and there is still work to be done to encourage and support more women to enter the field, especially in research and manufacturing.

Let’s not wait another decade for another couple of percentage points of hope.

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