AI is just about everywhere these days. It simplifies and expedites processes that would otherwise be done manually. Though once an exotic term of science fiction, it's now what greets you the moment you interact with the customer service page of any major retailer. It should be no surprise that AI has entered the cannabis sphere. Artificial intelligence has the capacity to boost production, improve efficiency, and even make the entire process more environmentally friendly.

John Kaweske is Founder & CEO of North Star Holdings, Inc. and Tweedleaf. We like to think we know a thing or two about artificial intelligence. We've seen the ominous technological future depicted in television shows and films of robots slowly amalgamating into society. But this imagery is all wrong. Instead, automation has been in our lives for quite some time now, and many of us are likely not even aware of it.

AI is transforming the world--and the cannabis industry. Some view Artificial Intelligence (AI) as an existential risk that could wipe out humanity, others see it as an exciting new frontier to advance civilization. Regardless of one's views, its prevalence today cannot be understated. Its application is so ubiquitous that even those critical of AI may not even be aware of how pervasive it is in shaping our interactions. AI often works behind-the-scenes to influence and shape our interactions and society at large.

If two markets are pretty much guaranteed to make money over the next decade separately it's artificial intelligence and cannabis. Together, the pair could form a perfect storm thanks to COVID-19 driving demand. Cannabis is more popular than ever thanks to lockdowns and vape technology and the market is predicted to be worth $76.3 billion by 2027). A.I. adds new business benefits for the industry that the COVID boom could mean big changes ahead for regulation. Adrian Holguin, CEO of CannaShark Consulting, started consulting for cannabis companies in 2017, and in three years he says the changes have been dramatic.

In the modern era, each industry seems to grow with the technology that supports it. Looking to the cannabis business of today, it's amazing to see how sophisticated and modernized this once grassroots and obscure industry has become. To this end, the cannabis industry of 2019 is beginning to mirror more mainstream businesses, as well as share in the technological advancements that support them. Of the novel technologies being entertained in the cannabis space, artificial intelligence shows some promising potential on the cybersecurity front. In any U.S. state with a legal cannabis market, compliance and security are some of the most integral features of successful business operations.

In a clandestine, 40,000-square-foot cultivation facility in northern Arizona, we met with the founders of CEAD, Royce Birnbaum and Adam Klaasmeyer, a company that develops artificial intelligence applications for the cannabis industry. These two are no strangers to innovation. Birnbaum, the lead back-end developer for the project, has had a career in developing systems for monitoring nuclear reactors for the Navy and AI technology for the defense industry, while Klaasmeyer, the front-end developer and coder, has contributed to projects for companies such as Atari and Microsoft. The CEAD technology currently being tested at a cannabis research and development center in Arizona monitors operational and environmental systems including plant nutrition, growth rates, life cycles, and predictive pest outbreaks. In addition, it keeps a log of all movements made by the cultivation team and gathers data in regards to specific feeding and pruning schedules.

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Just about every estimate shows that the cannabis industry will see strong long-term growth. Yet there are some major challenges–and they are more than just about changing existing laws and regulations. But AI (Artificial Intelligence) is likely to be a big help. True, the industry has not been a big adopter of new technologies. However, this should change soon as investors pour billions of dollars into the space.

Data helps to drive every industry now. When used effectively, it can lower operational costs and utilize resources in a more effective manner. The U.S. legal cannabis market was valued at $11.9 billion in 2018 and is expected to be worth $66.3 billion by the end of 2025. With this kind of growth, data collection and use are essential to the Cannabis industry in many ways. The access to a vast amount of data, allows growers to optimize for environmental changes and variables and can even change the strain of the product.