In case you haven't noticed, human level machine intelligence is already here. The end of the world is coming … eventually. Shortly before his death last year, famed physicist Stephen Hawking left us with several rather grim predictions for the future of Earth and life on it. At the top of his list was the takeover of artificial intelligence (AI). In an interview with Wired, he was quoted as follows: "We need to move forward on artificial intelligence development, but we also need to be mindful of its very real dangers. I fear that AI may replace humans altogether. If people design computer viruses, someone will design AI that replicates itself. This will be a new form of life that will outperform humans."

Advanced agriculture technology like Harvest CROO Robotics' automated strawberry harvester are poised to take on the heavy lifting for farmers. "Necessity is the mother of invention," so the saying goes. It's certainly appropriate when referring to advancements made in agriculture technology. The lack of available farm labor alone has given rise to automated smart harvesters. In a recently published article, two University of Florida researchers say robots and information technology will be the rule and no longer the exception on farms in the coming years.

The strawberry-picking robot enters a field near Duette, Fla. The strawberry-picking robot enters a field near Duette, Fla. Robots have taken over many of America's factories. They can explore the depths of the ocean, and other planets. But can they pick a strawberry? "You kind of learn, when you get into this -- it's really hard to match what humans can do," says Bob Pitzer, an expert on robots and co-founder of a company called Harvest CROO Robotics.