Chinese farmers recently began testing a new AI system that uses a combination of machine vision, voice recognition, and temperature sensors to keep track of pigs' location, health, and wellbeing. A new artificial intelligence (AI) project from tech conglomerate Alibaba could alleviate some of the myriad problems facing Chinese farmers in the pork industry. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, and keeping track of the nation's estimated 700 million animals is notoriously difficult for farmers. They need to pay careful attention to ensure that piglets aren't crushed to death by their mothers, sows aren't bred past their prime, and sick pigs don't pass their illnesses on to the rest of the population. Currently, farmers track pigs by clipping wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to the animals' ears. These can be expensive, and farmers don't always have time to fit each pig with a tag and scan them.

At least in China, anyway, where tech giant Alibaba is rolling out image- and sound-recognition software to help raise excellent porcine specimens. What it does: Quartz reports that Alibaba has built software that identifies pigs by markings on their bodies, tracking their physical activity and stats such as age and weight. Sound recognition can listen out for telltale signs of ill health. Some farms in China have a lot of pigs. Tequ, a Chinese agricultural firm that's teting out the technology, raises 10 million pigs a year.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) venture from tech giant Alibaba could ease a portion of the various issues confronting Chinese farmers in the pork business. China is the world's biggest maker and consumer of pork, and monitoring the country's estimated 700 million creatures is famously troublesome for farmers. They have to give careful consideration to guarantee that piglets aren't squashed to death by their moms, sows aren't reared past their prime, and sick pigs don't pass their diseases on to the remaining populace. Right now, agriculturists track pigs by clipping wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) labels to the creatures' ears. These can be costly, and farmers don't generally have room schedule-wise to fit each pig with a tag and scan them.

Chinese farmers recently began testing a new AI system that uses a combination of machine vision, voice recognition, and temperature sensors to keep track of pigs' location, health, and wellbeing. A new artificial intelligence (AI) project from tech conglomerate Alibaba could alleviate some of the myriad problems facing Chinese farmers in the pork industry. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, and keeping track of the nation's estimated 700 million animals is notoriously difficult for farmers.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) project from tech conglomerate Alibaba could alleviate some of the myriad problems facing Chinese farmers in the pork industry. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, and keeping track of the nation's estimated 700 million animals is notoriously difficult for farmers. They need to pay careful attention to ensure that piglets aren't crushed to death by their mothers, sows aren't bred past their prime, and sick pigs don't pass their illnesses on to the rest of the population. Currently, farmers track pigs by clipping wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to the animals' ears. These can be expensive, and farmers don't always have time to fit each pig with a tag and scan them. They also provide only very basic information about the pigs' locations -- they can't determine anything about the animals' health and wellbeing.

A new artificial intelligence (AI) project from tech conglomerate Alibaba could alleviate some of the myriad problems facing Chinese farmers in the pork industry. China is the world's largest producer and consumer of pork, and keeping track of the nation's estimated 700 million animals is notoriously difficult for farmers. They need to pay careful attention to ensure that piglets aren't crushed to death by their mothers, sows aren't bred past their prime, and sick pigs don't pass their illnesses on to the rest of the population. Currently, farmers track pigs by clipping wireless radio frequency identification (RFID) tags to the animals' ears. These can be expensive, and farmers don't always have time to fit each pig with a tag and scan them. They also provide only very basic information about the pigs' locations -- they can't determine anything about the animals' health and wellbeing.

For centuries, pig-rearing in the country was predominantly a backyard occupation. But since the 1980s, China has swiftly modernized its pork industry to meet the demands of a newly-rich middle class. Now, half of the world's pigs -- some 700 million animals -- live and die in China, most in huge farms. And to help manage this porcine horde, the country's farmers are turning to a decidedly untraditional tool: artificial intelligence. Earlier this month, Chinese tech giant Alibaba signed a deal with pig farming corporation Dekon Group and pig feed manufacturer Tequ Group to develop and deploy AI-powered pig-tracking systems.

And to help manage this porcine horde, the country's farmers are turning to a decidedly un-traditional tool: artificial intelligence.