I found John Deere’s presentation yesterday of an autonomous tractor pretty intriguing. Not because it operates itself, and not because it is “tech in farming,” but rather because of the sheer amount of technology and AI capabilities built into the machine. So, I was little surprised when I saw this report in WIRED that characterized the reveal as “stir[ing] debate on AI farming.” To be sure, there is a long and ongoing conversation about the extent to which automation in many industries will replace human workers. And the discussion might approach particular sensitivities when implicating industries that require significant inputs of science and judgment. And then layer in the particularly human aspect of farming (who remembers Paul Harvey’s 1978 “So God Made a Farmer,” backdropped brilliantly in this 2013 Ram truck ad?) and the angles of the conversation become even more defined.
There may be several initial responses to concerns: (1) As noted in this Smart Rural CommunitySM (SRC) ag tech report, the greater incorporation of technology in farming can be expected to create demand for famers with more specialized technical training; (2) Technology is increasingly incorporated in a growing universe of industries, as presented in this SRC report on education and jobs training; and, (3) While automation may replace some jobs, it creates other jobs – increasing automation over the past century has not resulted in higher overall rates of unemployment. Technological developments in sum create jobs; the aggregate need for humans has not been supplanted. Nevertheless, ongoing automation in new fields (whether ag, law, medicine, or others) will implicate similar questions to those raised in WIRED and add to growing conversations as AI and machine learning become more commonplace.
“Commonplace” is an interesting word to use in a post about CES. One could say that the goal of CES is to demonstrate that the outlandish will become commonplace – or, as Qualcomm so eloquently put it during yesterday’s keynote, “To make the impossible, inevitable.” And a recurring theme as we have explored CES in these posts over the years has been the effort to identify “meaningful” technology. Here are some examples from this year’s displays.
Heru has created a headset that uses visual field testing to diagnose several ophthalmological conditions including glaucoma and neural-ophthalmological disorders. Updates this year are expected to enable the unit to also measure visual acuity. The unit runs a series of vision tests whose results are uploaded to an app. Those results can then be reviewed by an ophthalmologist who may be located miles away. The potential benefit to patients in areas that lack a nearby ophthalmologist are manifest, particularly for patients who may be prone to vision problems such as diabetic retinopathy.
HYGEAR combines suspension bands and jump ropes with sensors. Users can create personalized workouts through the app; the equipment monitors performance and adjusts workouts accordingly. Unlike stationary exercise equipment, HYGEAR products are portable – the suspension bands can be attached to nearly any secured object (a door, fence post, etc.) with their built-in carabiner clips, and the product packs into a compact duffle.
Finally, BeFC has created a paper battery. The millimeters-thin unit relies on energy created by reactions among sugars and enzymes. The use-case for the biodegradable batteries includes medical patches, ag sensors, and logistics.
Each of these developments takes an existing function and improves it. Heru expands opportunities for ophthalmological diagnoses; HYGEAR broadens opportunities for fitness and exercise; BeFC expands possibilities for deploying battery-powered devices. One may consider whether greater autonomous functions in ag similarly represent an expansion of opportunity and benefits. If so, then the technology deployed meaningfully may be embraced even as the questions it may raise warrant consideration. The development of tech is, after all, inevitable.
