Post Thumbnail

12,000-year-old agriculture meets AI: Google introduces Heritable Agriculture

Google X, Google’s advanced technology development division, announced the spin-off of its new project Heritable Agriculture into an independent startup. The company aims to transform the millennia-old agricultural industry using artificial intelligence and machine learning.

According to research, modern agriculture is the largest consumer of groundwater and source of about 25% of anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions. Additionally, the active use of pesticides, fertilizers, and other chemicals leads to soil erosion and water resource pollution.

“Plants are self-assembling solar-powered machines with a negative carbon footprint that only need sunlight and water to work,” states the company’s announcement published on Tuesday.

Heritable Agriculture founder and CEO Brad Zamft, who holds a Ph.D. in physics, previously worked at the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and served as chief scientific officer at TL Biolabs startup. “I was given broad authority to work on anything, provided the project could scale to the size of Google’s business. That was the mandate. The idea of optimizing plants captivated me and received management support,” Zamft told TechCrunch.

Heritable technology uses machine learning to analyze plant genomes to identify combinations that can improve crop production. “By understanding these genomes, we can develop crops with climate-friendly characteristics to increase yields, reduce water requirements, and enhance carbon storage capacity in roots and soil,” explains Zamft.

This ambitious project demonstrates the growing potential of artificial intelligence application in solving global human challenges. Using big data analysis and machine learning capabilities, Heritable Agriculture aims to modernize an industry that is 12,000 years old, turning accumulated data into practical recommendations for agricultural producers.

Autor: AIvengo
For 5 years I have been working with machine learning and artificial intelligence. And this field never ceases to amaze, inspire and interest me.
Latest News
UBTech will send Walker S2 robots to serve on China's border for $37 million

Chinese company UBTech won a contract for $37 million. And will send humanoid robots Walker S2 to serve on China's border with Vietnam. South China Morning Post reports that the robots will interact with tourists and staff, perform logistics operations, inspect cargo and patrol the area. And characteristically — they can independently change their battery.

Anthropic accidentally revealed an internal document about Claude's "soul"

Anthropic accidentally revealed the "soul" of artificial intelligence to a user. And this is not a metaphor. This is a quite specific internal document.

Jensen Huang ordered Nvidia employees to use AI everywhere

Jensen Huang announced total mobilization under the banner of artificial intelligence inside Nvidia. And this is no longer a recommendation. This is a requirement.

AI chatbots generate content that exacerbates eating disorders

A joint study by Stanford University and the Center for Democracy and Technology showed a disturbing picture. Chatbots with artificial intelligence pose a serious risk to people with eating disorders. Scientists warn that neural networks hand out harmful advice about diets. They suggest ways to hide the disorder and generate "inspiring weight loss content" that worsens the problem.

OpenAGI released the Lux model that overtakes Google and OpenAI

Startup OpenAGI released the Lux model for computer control and claims this is a breakthrough. According to benchmarks, the model overtakes analogues from Google, OpenAI and Anthropic by a whole generation. Moreover, it works faster. About 1 second per step instead of 3 seconds for competitors. And 10 times cheaper in cost per processing 1 token.