People + AI: Pioneering the Next Era of Energy and Water Innovation

SEW and a Long AI Legacy

Over the last 12 years at SEW, we have mastered the creation of AI that attempts to mimic human behavior in both learning and operating at scale. By developing algorithms that replicate human traits, we’ve automated tasks that would have required human intelligence.

More recently, at SEW, we believe that the bigger opportunity is to augment human intelligence with AI, creating a synergy where both can elevate outcomes. Humans can add out-of-the-box thinking, especially in areas where machines lack originality and may not fully align the response with the intended outcome.

Machines, on the other hand, can operate at a massive scale, with deductive extension of learned and programmed behaviors, creating a virtuous loop. However, machines lack the emotion to be inclusive and ethical—this is where human input with a well-defined and well-intended point of view is important to influence the language used and decisions made by AI/ML.Figure 1. The Power of People + AI

Building on SEW’s legacy of AI and ML prowess, we’ve focused all our expertise on bringing these synergies of People + AI to benefit utilities. We believe in the power of human intelligence augmented by machine learning/AI, and we’re building these capabilities natively across all our platforms, across multiple use cases.

We cannot overstate the importance of new ways – AI leading the charge. The energy sector is booming, and old and conventional methods are being replaced by new innovations carrying the torch forward.

Human augmented intelligence, where AI enhances human capabilities rather than replacing them, is evolving rapidly. Here are some key trends:

1. Collaborative AI: SEW AI systems are increasingly designed to work alongside humans, enhancing decision-making and productivity. The goal is to increase overall productivity without displacing human intelligence. Repetitive, error-prone, and strenuous activities are offloaded to machines with algorithms that can adapt, extend, and execute at scale.
2. Targeted AI Solutions: SEW is a strong proponent of targeted solutions. Our platforms offer the industry’s best AI/ML-supported use cases to help utilities operate with top-quality performance and scalability. Where necessary, SEW’s out-of-the- box platforms can be easily configured on-site to fine-tune for the specific nuances of your customers’ needs and service offerings.
3. Multimodal AI: Like our communication channels, our AI is multimodal. SEW’s platform natively integrates ML models built for chat, voice, BI analytics, and VR outputs, enhancing utility outcomes for customers, the workforce, and partners globally.
4. Enhanced Decision-Making: AI across all platforms is being used to support complex decision-making processes in engagement, outreach, utility operations, and financial operations. Increasingly, the decision subtleties are going to be the differentiating factor between good and a subpar AI systems. Nano-segmentation, precise timing and channels of contact, minute content variations, and targeted outreach for initiatives like net zero, conservation, infrastructure improvement, fraud prevention, and effective collections are all driven by SEW’s advanced AI/ML models on our platforms - SmartCX, SmartWX and SmartBX.
5. Human-Machine Collaboration: Our focus is on creating processes where humans and AI systems collaborate effectively. Hyper-personalization, federated learning, continuous improvement, plus ethical AI and responsible ML are cornerstones of SEW.AI platforms. Our platforms create equal, inclusive opportunities for all customer segments, regardless of income, access or geolocation diversity. Machines are not creative, inclusive (culturally sensitive), or intuitive or their own. This is where human and AI machine collaboration is paramount. This is where People + AI can outperform both AI-alone and Human-alone system.

People + AI in Action in the Energy Sector

AI is revolutionizing the energy sector in several impactful ways. These trends highlight the growing importance of AI as a tool to augment human intelligence, making our work and lives more efficient and productive.

Here are some key trends:

1. Smart Grids and Energy Management: AI powers SEW’s SmartGX and other grid network management platforms, offering capabilities that enhance the efficiency and reliability of smart grid operations. SEW’s People + AI use cases are purpose-built to optimize operations by predicting and managing energy demand and optimizing electricity distribution – managing peak demand periods and rate management to ensure the best economic outcomes for both residential and commercial customers. This helps balance supply and demand (and thus ensuring grid resiliency), reduces energy waste, and integrates renewable energy sources.
2. Predictive Maintenance: On our SmartWX and other platforms, AI algorithms are used to predict equipment failures before they occur, allowing for timely maintenance, repairs and reduced downtime. We also have very powerful, field-proven ‘Tech-en-Route’ and AI-driven scheduling capabilities that help optimize time spent by field workforce on prioritized issues, as well as provide the best logistics for time, tools and geo-navigation.
3. Renewable Energy Integration: On our Smart Energy Management platforms, AI helps to manage renewable sources, including virtual power plants (VPP), co-ops, and other distributed, decentralized sources, to assist with peak demand management. SEW platforms employ AI/ML to educate and empower customers with rate management and incentive programs, integrating renewable energy sources like solar and wind while creating options for resiliency and load management through advanced load forecasting and energy contributions from renewable sources at consumer locations.
4. Energy Efficiency: Our integrations with partners and industry-leading auditors of your choice enable AI-driven analysis and recommendations to optimize energy consumption in buildings and industrial processes. AI/ML-driven reporting and recommendations help you make informed decisions regarding appliance operation, replacement or repair, time of use, and energy reporting to authorities, ensuring compliance and participation in various funding and rebate program.
5. Energy Storage: Our Smart Energy Management platforms help identify and optimize opportunities for installing chargers and batteries at the right location and manage their operation, leveraging renewable sources to improve both resiliency and cost efficiency. These platforms also enable optimal decisions for charging and discharging, with seamless integrations into utilities, grid management systems, as well as weather prediction inputs to ensure continuity.

Figure 2. Leading the Energy Transformation with People + AI

The market for AI in the energy sector is growing rapidly, with significant investments being made to harness its potential. The global energy market is projected to grow at a CAGR of over 30%.

People + AI Advancements in the Water Sector

Globally the water utility sector is undergoing significant changes, driven by technological advancements and emerging challenges. SEW.AI platforms are in lockstep with the ongoing transformations – conservation, distribution, leakage prevention, rate management and other initiatives are seamlessly integrated into our platforms across several connected use cases. Here are some of the latest trends and how SEW.AI Platforms address these opportunities:

1. Digital Water Management: The integration of AI, IoT (Internet of Things), GIS (Geographic Information System), and digital twins is revolutionizing water management. At several customer sites, we have successfully integrated water telematics and leveraged AI to enable use cases that identify quality of water, water wastage, rates, and other important metrics for utility and their oversight agencies.
2. Smart Water Technologies: SEW platforms are natively integrated with advanced infrastructure such as smart meters, devices, and AI. These enable use cases like accurate metering, real-time monitoring, leakage detection, and other forms of wastage prevention and conservation.
3. Water Reuse and Circular Economy: At SEW, we are leading efforts to support the circular economy and its operation. We believe in the conservation and equitable availability of water to everyone on the earth, and we have integrated this commitment into our platforms. There is a growing emphasis on reusing wastewater to support a circular economy, and our platforms facilitate auditing, monitoring, and reporting on these initiatives.
4. Public Awareness and Education: SEW’s engagement, empowerment, and education motto extends to water campaigns. SmartCX, SmartBX, and other platforms help increase public understanding of water issues and the value of water resources, prioritizing alerts and notifications on outages and other critical communication. AI-driven management of such campaigns promotes water conservation, reduces wastage, and increase availability globally.

Figure 3. Building a Water Secure Future with People + AI

These trends reflect a proactive and innovative approach in the water industry to address current challenges and prepare for future demands.

Our AI is of the People, by the People, for the People.

People AI: At its core, People + AI is about placing people at the center. With a large industry footprint of our solutions across the globe at SEW, we are best positioned to provide optimal solutions for thousands of use cases, ensuring that they are mature and weather-tested by millions of uses every month across a wide variety of user behaviors, needs and intents.

Of the People: The best-in-class algorithms and machine learning models ensure that the inferences and analytics are centered on the most representative behaviors of the people – there are shortcuts to achieving some outcomes that may not represent the true behaviors of customers, workforce and third parties. We ensure that our ML algorithms are nuanced in their ability to learn from subtle variations in user intent, creating models that drive accurate analytics for future decisions and actions.

By the People: In addition to boasting about our best-in-class data science and AI team that builds the AI/ML pipeline behind the use cases and platform capabilities, we are also proud to build and leverage the largest first-party data representing important behaviors by the people. This data helps shape and train the ML models for optimal outcomes in each local context —AI tuned to your geographic, demographic and behavioral context, not a generic global fit.

For the People: Customer engagement and workforce optimization are the primary motivations behind the use cases and metrics of outcome. Responsible and secure AI engages and empowers customers at the right time, at their convenience, and through their preferred mode and channel. Omni-channel engagement is available 24x7, utilizing responsible use of Gen AI where it helps and censors where it may hinder – no profane language or no meandering conversation that waste time or confuse the outcomes.

Charting the Future with Powerful AI Innovations in V11++

Best of Both Worlds: As you transition from the world of pure gas and fossil fuels, both inside and outside the home, SEW is with you every step of the way.

Whether it is gas in the kitchen, the heating closet, or cars in the garage, the world is changing – we are electrifying everything. But you are not leaving current and conventional methods abruptly; instead, SEW is evolving alongside you. We are ‘adding’ advanced analytics, latest AI and ML models, including vertical AI and generative AI, on top of conventional omnichannel engagement and operational optimization.

We are adding the smartest support for solar, and other renewable energy sources, user behavior analytics, and infrastructure operations, as well as best-optimized placements for them—all driven by superior analytics based on geographic, demographic and behavioral analysis rooted in first-party data and advanced machine learning models that have matured through years of improvements from in-field feedback from real use.