The latest buzzword in the field of artificial intelligence is generative AI. The program creates new concepts and teaches itself, allowing users to quickly generate new content based on a variety of inputs.
Generative AI is speculated to fundamentally change agriculture, from breeding new varieties and hybrids to the machinery and technology used on farms to the way farmers collect and use data. Generative AI is essentially a machine learning model that is trained to create new data rather than making predictions about specific data. It is said to be able to process data and learn on its own.
At the emerging research showcase held on April 2nd North Carolina Biotechnology Center Inside Research Triangle Park, Gary FoxThe dean of North Carolina State University's College of Agriculture and Life Sciences said the university is committed to investing in generative AI. “This is the future we are heading towards in agriculture and life sciences,” the dean said.
Fox noted that 15 to 20 faculty members within the university are already working on generative AI. He said the university is investing in new cluster hires as part of its generative AI program.
“We are creating new faculty positions related to the plant science side, which will be located in the Plant Science Building on Centennial Campus. We are also starting a new food animal initiative within the university. One of our AI divisions will focus specifically on food animal production,” Fox said.
He noted that AI will change the way universities carry out their research, teaching, and outreach missions. “It's really important to look at ways to reach out, expand, and communicate. Some of the AI positions are going to be in that area.”
Additionally, Fox said the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences will collaborate with the College of Engineering, which is well-positioned for applied AI.
smart breeding
Meanwhile, Issa Coulibaly, senior scientist at BASF, said AI will enable smart breeding, allowing breeders to unravel the mysteries of complex traits and translate biological knowledge and data into actionable precision plant breeding strategies. He said he could. He said AI will play a key role in Breeding 4.0, which “represents a paradigm shift towards precision breeding of plants”.
He said Breeding 4.0 will enable plant breeders to develop climate-resistant varieties and hybrids, adapt genotypes to the environment and meet the requirements of sustainable agriculture.
“AI-assisted breeding systems leverage micro- and macro-scale data, as well as unstructured data, for theoretical research, development of breeding procedures, testing and testing networks in multiple environments, selection and advancement, and It will have an impact on the commercial launch of new varieties/hybrids,” Coulibaly said.
Breeding 4.0 started around 2015 with gene editing, Crispr Cas 9, rapid breeding, big data, artificial intelligence, phenomics, environmental typing, physiology, remote sensing, and crop growth modeling, Coulibaly said. He said Breeding 4.0 is an innovative product that allows farmers to increase yields with fewer inputs and less land.
At the summit, Coulibaly introduced the history of plant breeding, starting with breeding 1.0, which began 10,000 years ago when humans switched from hunting and gathering to farming. Breeding 1.0 led to phenotypic selection and domestication of wheat, millet, and maize.
“In 1886, we embarked on breeding 2.0. At that point, we had knowledge about how heredity is passed from parent to offspring. That knowledge then influenced breeding. It was used to give people a lot of money,” Coulibaly said. Mendelian genetics, hybrid breeding in 1920, and the Green Revolution of the 1960s were all part of breeding 2.0.
Then, in 1990, Breeding 3.0 came along and developed the genetic market, which Coulibaly says has had a huge impact on selection and breeding. Breeding 3.0 included genetic markers, genetic modifications in 1994, and genomic predictions in 2010.
And finally, with Breeding 4.0, which began in 2015, artificial intelligence will be the main driver for the development of new varieties and hybrids.
