Lumen Technologies (Nasdaq: LUMN) announced three initiatives: an energy-aware AI networking pilot with Emerald AI that will route inference workloads to locations based on power availability, cost, latency, security and performance; research funding for long-distance quantum networking and distributed sensing with The Ohio State University; and the addition of Fortinet post-quantum cryptography (PQC) capabilities to its Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) solution, slated for initial availability in November 2026 and general availability in January 2027. Kate Johnson, Lumen CEO, said the network must help solve defining challenges by adapting AI computing to energy, laying groundwork for quantum connectivity, and preparing for emerging security threats. Jim Fowler, Lumen’s chief technology and product officer, described the AI pilot as a first-of-its-kind effort to make the network an active part of workload placement. 1