Publications of Learning Archives

BAS: Five Global Trends That Will Define Your Strategy

William Attardi on July 17, 2026

Building automation is entering a smarter, more connected era, but outdated systems, rising energy costs and workforce gaps can quickly limit performance. This article explores five global trends shaping BAS and shows how AI, cloud-based platforms, integrated controls and intelligent retrofits can improve efficiency, strengthen resilience and protect long-term investments. Read it now to build a future-ready strategy before today’s limitations become tomorrow’s obstacles.

Specifying Sustainability with Confidence

William Attardi on June 30, 2026

Sustainability is no longer a separate design consideration—it is central to how buildings are planned, specified, operated and evaluated. This cross-brand eBook brings together timely insights on the evolving practice of specifying for sustainability. From navigating LEED v5 and understanding standardized Environmental Product Declarations to evaluating biomaterials, healthier interiors, energy-saving solutions and next-generation product selection tools, this resource is designed to help built environment professionals make more informed decisions with confidence. Whether you are designing a new space, renovating an existing building, managing a portfolio or advising clients on better material choices, this eBook offers a practical look at the tools, trends and strategies shaping sustainable specification today. Specifying Sustainability with Confidence: Your guide to smarter product selection, material transparency and high-performance buildings | Buildings

You Know Robots But What About Cobots? by David Shiller

William Attardi on June 24, 2026

Collaborative robots, or cobots, are moving from factory novelty to practical production tools, and the lighting industry is well positioned to benefit from that shift. For lighting manufacturers, the biggest implication is not replacement of people, but a rebalancing of labor: cobots can take on repetitive, precise, or ergonomically difficult tasks while skilled workers focus on assembly, testing, engineering support, quality control, and process improvements. Lighting manufacturing has several operations that match cobot strengths: bin picking, screwdriving, machine tending, packaging, label application, inspection support, and repetitive subassembly work. Cobots are designed to work safely alongside people in shared spaces, which makes them attractive for plants that cannot justify a full fenced robot cell or that need to keep production layouts flexible. Their easier programming and faster deployment also matter for lighting companies that run many product variants and short production cycles. More information is available hereand here. You Know Robots But What About Cobots? | LightNOW

Jensen Huang Says AI Will Reshape Work Like the Industrial Revolution and the US ‘Should Absolutely Lead’

William Attardi on June 21, 2026

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang thinks artificial intelligence will transform the workforce much like the Industrial Revolution did, creating new jobs and reshaping how Americans work. Speaking Thursday on “The Will Cain Show,” Huang urged young people to embrace AI rather than fear it, arguing that the technology will become a tool that enhances workers’ abilities across nearly every field. The Nvidia co-founder said the rapid expansion of AI infrastructure is already fueling demand for skilled labor, including electricians, welders and construction workers, as companies build chip manufacturing facilities, computer plants and data centers across the country. “AI is going to last a long time, and there’s no end,” he said. .Jensen Huang says AI will reshape work like the Industrial Revolution and the US ‘should absolutely lead’

Can Light Solve AI’s Energy Bottleneck? by Nick New

William Attardi on June 12, 2026

The increasing energy requirements to power AI is unsustainable, with concerns also growing about the environmental damage that supplying such energy could cause. We are now at an inflection point. Traditional electrical data transfer methods are reaching their limits, with NVIDIA showing its hand by recently investing $4 billion in two photonics companies, Coherent Corp. and Lumentum. NVIDIA is betting on a future where data is transmitted via light (photons) rather than electricity. Photonics can be integrated directly onto silicon chips to enable scalability and efficiency improvements over electricity. The crux of photonics’ efficiency gain is simple: Light travels faster and carries more information, while producing less heat than electrons. This results in dramatically higher compute density, lower power consumption, and superior thermal performance to overcome the limits imposed by the rise of dark silicon on conventional chips. Can light solve AI’s energy bottleneck? | Laser Focus World

A.I. Doesn’t Have to Mean Layoffs by Patricia Cohen

William Attardi on June 3, 2026

A French multinational, Schneider Electric, decided to use artificial intelligence in manufacturing to make workers more productive, rather than to replace them. Here’s how that’s going. For many chief executives, success in adopting artificial intelligence is measured by the number of jobs they can eliminate. But such views reflect “a very narrow understanding” of A.I.’s potential, said Erik Brynjolfsson, who directs the Digital Economy Lab at Stanford University. It’s a message that Schneider Electric, a global energy technology company based in France, has taken to heart. Before the company started using A.I., customer service agents received thousands of questions from callers and engaged in a grand hunt through millions of pages of information to track down the answer. Now A.I. does the hunting and details how the information was selected and the source. The agent then reviews and if necessary, modifies and refines the answer with the caller. In the last three months of 2025, call centers fielded 150,000 questions. Three-quarters of the time, A.I. was able to provide the right answer to straightforward questions. I. Doesn’t Have to Mean Layoffs – The New York Times

AI Is Enabling the Next Generation of Distributor Workflows by Michael Delgado

William Attardi on June 1, 2026

Customer expectations have never been greater, and distributors must respond to growing volumes of requests quickly and accurately, often across fragmented inputs and constantly changing information. Highly manual workflows can’t keep up with this new reality. AI represents a practical solution. Not as a bolt-on tool, but as a way to change how work gets done — handling the translation between how requests come in and how orders need to be processed. That shift removes the bottleneck at the center of quoting and order entry, allowing teams to respond faster, reduce errors and operate more consistently despite the rising pressure. AI has moved from a competitive advantage to a baseline requirement to keep pace. Distributors that embed it into their core workflows will operate more efficiently, compete more effectively for customers and build an operation that holds up as the industry continues to evolve. Those that don’t will find themselves poorly positioned to keep up with a world that isn’t slowing down. NAED Selects IDEA & Pull Logic for ProjectNexus E-Commerce Initiative | Electrical Wholesaling

Too Much Work to Do? Have Your Digital Twin Handle It by Joann S. Lublin

William Attardi on May 29, 2026

Ever wish you had a twin to share your workload? A small but growing number of executives have done just that, creating AI versions of themselves that offer a glimpse of future workplaces where one person’s output is no longer limited to one person. Here is how it works: An AI system analyzes how an executive writes, speaks and thinks, by studying everything from work emails the person has written to his or her speeches and interviews. Then, the AI double takes on various jobs for the executive—like answering questions from subordinates—that use the human’s knowledge and communication style. Sometimes, with a video-based version, these AI twins even speak at conferences or make presentations. Advocates and users say the digital twins have the potential to free executives from routine tasks and leave them available for higher-level work. Digital work twins could become the most significant productivity multiplier since the personal computer. Employ an AI Twin to Handle Your Piles of Busy Work – WSJ

Researchers Prepare Robots for an Aging Society

William Attardi on May 11, 2026

As the U.S. faces a historic demographic shift, Stanford experts are developing robots to help older adults walk safely, get dressed, do chores, and maintain independence at home. In brief:

America’s aging population is driving a need for robotic caregiving solutions.
Stanford labs are developing assistive technologies from walking companion robots to soft inflatable lifters to touch-sensitive robotic fingertips.
These innovations aim to help older adults age independently at home, addressing a shortage in caregiving resources.

Monroe Kennedy III, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Stanford Robotics Center thinks it could be a tool for older people in their homes. Its fine dexterity could help perform tasks like opening medicine bottles or picking up a dropped pill, and its gentleness could one day enable direct physical assistance in bathing or dressing. Progress requires more investment and more research, Kennedy says, but he’s optimistic we’re not far from a day when robots step in to make aging in place much easier. “We’re a lot closer than you think.”

Researchers prepare robots for an aging society | Stanford Report