--- title: Northern Data Group COO Talks Innovation Bravery description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. canonical: https://time.com/branded-content/northern-data-group/welcoming-an-ai-powered-future/ article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2026-07-20T09:47:14.429Z article:modified_time: 2026-07-20T09:47:07.281Z og:title: Northern Data Group COO Talks Innovation Bravery og:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. og:url: https://time.com/branded-content/northern-data-group/welcoming-an-ai-powered-future/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Northern Data Group COO Talks Innovation Bravery twitter:description: Breaking news and analysis from time.com. Politics, world news, photos, video, tech reviews, health, science, and entertainment news. twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # Northern Data Group COO Talks Innovation Bravery ## Video: Northern Data Group Executive Spotlight [Watch (HLS stream): Northern Data Group Executive Spotlight](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/4K06cAUl.m3u8) (4:11)  _Published 2024-06-07. Northern Data Group Executive Spotlight_ With its high performance computing power, Northern Data Group is bringing generative AI to new industries, and in innovative ways. Northern Data Group COO Rosanne Kincaid-Smith recently sat down with TIME CEO Jessica Sibley to highlight the transformative potential of AI—and how she works to balance the sector’s unprecedented innovation with considerations for ethics and sustainability. ## Welcoming an AI-powered future What does an AI-powered future look like? Kincaid-Smith offered an example in biomedical research: A new pharmaceutical paper is released every 30 seconds, but the average human researcher can only review one or two papers per day. With the help of high performance computing (HPC), though, AI can already parse new research at a rate way beyond human capabilities. “Being able to apply AI to research papers—and aggregate all of that information—means that we are now able to take a look at what that research offers, and bring that together in new biomedical ideas to develop crucial drugs that can possibly save millions of lives,” she said. “What’s really great is you can apply this across every single industry. The scale adoption of generative AI really is going to change the world if we use it properly,” Kincaid-Smith said. ## Balancing innovation and ethics With great power, of course, comes great responsibility. Kincaid-Smith has always been aware of this but was particularly struck with the weight of that responsibility during the ramp-up of ChatGPT last year, noting the need to look at all possible impacts of the explosion in AI’s popularity. “We cannot sacrifice ethics for advancement. If we really want the best out of AI, we are going to have to look at the right way to democratize access to this technology, to regulate it effectively, and to apply it in a way that people can really get the best from it.” In addition to considerations about access and regulation, Kincaid-Smith also keeps a close eye on the environmental impacts of AI, working to explore ways to minimize the company’s footprint. Northern Data Group’s efforts to make AI operations more environmentally sustainable include using liquid cooling technology and renewable energy systems to keep its footprint light. Additionally, the company uses excess heat from data centers to warm the homes of local communities. “We work predominantly with renewable energy sources, making sure that we don't leave a hard impact anywhere. These are small steps, but they are demonstrations of innovation that can be applied every single day,” Kincaid-Smith said. ## ‘Innovation bravery’—a philosophy of pushing boundaries While emphasizing the need for caution in regard to both ethics and the environment, Kincaid-Smith is also no stranger to taking risks. The private equity veteran notes that her 20 years of experience taught her to embrace risk for reward, and a key tenet of the Northern Data Group ethos is what the company calls “innovation bravery.” The term describes a philosophy that encourages its employees to think big, be original, and push the boundaries of change. “Innovation bravery sounds like a tagline, but truly it's a philosophy for us and it sits at the very heart of all of our strategic decision making,” Kincaid-Smith said. With that attitude and a healthy respect for the power of AI, the future looks bright.  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