In this blog post, we will look at the changes and possibilities that artificial intelligence will bring to agriculture, as well as real-life examples of its application.

 

The future of artificial intelligence after AlphaGo

In March 2016, long before AlphaGo, an artificial intelligence (AI) program, won the Go match against Lee Sedol with a score of 4 wins and 1 loss, interest in the possibilities and power of artificial intelligence exploded around the world. This led to a lively discussion on the role of artificial intelligence, which could extend to areas that require human unique judgment and intuition, rather than simply being limited to computational power or performing specific tasks. Since then, experts and futurists have begun to predict the changes that artificial intelligence will bring to various industries in the future, and many have warned and anticipated the possibility of artificial intelligence replacing various occupations.

 

Agriculture and artificial intelligence: The beginning of change

Among them, agriculture is attracting attention as a field where the potential impact of artificial intelligence is particularly significant. Traditionally, agriculture has been dominated by manual labor for a long time, and even after mechanization, it has been affected by changes in weather and the environment. However, if artificial intelligence is introduced into agriculture in earnest, it is expected that problems that have been difficult to solve with human resources can be handled more efficiently. For example, artificial intelligence can monitor the condition of crops in real time to predict the timing of disease outbreaks or calculate the appropriate amount of fertilizer and water. This has great potential to increase agricultural productivity and minimize the impact on the environment.

 

Specific use cases and expected effects of artificial intelligence

The problem of managing crop diseases and pests is a major challenge for farmers. Quick action is essential when a disease or pest occurs, but it takes a considerable amount of time to accurately determine what disease or pest has occurred. As a result, a deep learning-based AI system that has recently learned the symptoms of plant diseases and pests has been developed, enabling the system to quickly and accurately diagnose the type of plant disease or pest. This plays an important role in quickly diagnosing crops affected by plant diseases and pests and immediately taking the necessary measures. With such a system, farmers can solve plant diseases and pests in time to reduce damage and maintain crop yields.
Another important task in agriculture is weed management. Traditionally, farmers have used pesticides or manually removed weeds, which requires a lot of labor and puts a strain on the environment. However, robots equipped with artificial intelligence can now perform precise work to selectively remove weeds, helping to reduce unnecessary pesticide use and increase the sustainability of agriculture. In fact, Blue River Technology has developed an AI robot that targets and removes only specific weeds, thereby achieving two goals at once: reducing labor and protecting the environment.

 

Smart farming system that reduces the impact of climate and the environment

Agriculture is greatly affected by climate and weather, so losses due to environmental changes occur frequently. For example, if there is a lot of rain and crops are flooded or if crops are burned due to drought, the production volume is greatly affected. To solve this problem, artificial intelligence is used to build a system that monitors the climate and environment in real time through sensors and big data analysis, and automatically suggests or takes necessary measures. For example, technology is being developed that allows artificial intelligence to set the optimum temperature, humidity, and lighting conditions in a greenhouse system to maintain an environment in which crops can grow best. A Japanese company has succeeded in growing Chinese cabbage using this smart farming system, which is helping to maintain a consistent quality of crops and increase production.

 

Substitution of labor and increased productivity through artificial intelligence

The labor shortage in the agricultural sector is a serious problem worldwide. In particular, in rural areas where there is a lack of young labor due to the aging population, artificial intelligence is attracting attention as a solution to the labor shortage. For example, Makoto Koike, a computer system developer in Japan, created a system that automatically classifies the grades of cucumbers using deep learning, which has enabled him to significantly reduce work time while maintaining accurate quality control. This kind of automated grading system reduces the number of simple tasks, thereby reducing labor and contributing to increasing the productivity and efficiency of agriculture.

 

Conclusion: The new future of agriculture that artificial intelligence will open up

In conclusion, the introduction of AI into agriculture is expected to bring about a number of positive changes. AI can play an important role in replacing tasks that are difficult for humans to perform, reducing agricultural damage caused by the environment, and solving labor shortages. Of course, these technologies have not yet been fully developed, and the current accuracy of identifying pests and diseases is only 95%, and the types of pests and diseases that can be distinguished are limited. However, if artificial intelligence technology is further developed in the future to overcome these limitations, artificial intelligence will bring about a major innovation in the agricultural sector. In particular, as smart agriculture using advanced technology gradually expands, agriculture is likely to become a futuristic industry that goes beyond a simple primary industry.
The future of agriculture is moving in an efficient and sustainable direction based on artificial intelligence, which will ultimately contribute to solving food problems and protecting the environment.