Robots can do a lot. They build cars in factories. Robotic dogs can, allegedly and a little creepily, make us safer by patrolling our streets. But there are some things robots still cannot do – things that sound quite basic in comparison. "It's a simple thing" for humans, says robotics researcher Joe Davidson.

The 3rd AI for Good Global Summit, a leading United Nation platform for multilateral dialogue on Artificial Intelligence (AI), was kicked off in Geneva, Switzerland, May 28-31. Bringing together over 1,200 interdisciplinary participants from 200 countries, the AI for Good Global Summit connects AI innovators with problem owners to identify practical applications of AI to accelerate process towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Speakers from industry giants such as Microsoft, Google, Mastercard, IBM, Airbus, Siemens, Danone and Roland Berger were present at the Summit. "Zero Hunger" is one of the 17 UN SDGs expected to be achieved by 2030. According to the United Nations, up to 80% of food consumed in most developing countries are produced by smallholder farmers who, however, account for approximately 50% of the 815 million people suffering from hunger worldwide.

"Zero Hunger" is one of the 17 UN SDGs expected to be achieved by 2030. According to the United Nations, up to 80% of food consumed in most developing countries are produced by smallholder farmers who, however, account for approximately 50% of the 815 million people suffering from hunger worldwide. At the Summit's session on AI and Agriculture, Justin Gong, Co-founder and Vice President of XAG, together with other panel experts from Microsoft, Tata Group and Connecterra has proposed projects and initiatives to exploit new possibilities of AI technology to improve food security and end hunger. Artificial Intelligence, through continuously analysing massive data related to climate, lands, crop growing, etc., while automatically designing and optimising algorithms for decision-making, can help farmers diagnose plant diseases, predict natural disasters and employ appropriate resources to close the yield gap. At XAG, AI-powered intelligent devices such as drones and sensors have been leveraged to establish digital farming infrastructure in rural areas and enable precision agriculture which, for example, accurately target pesticides, seeds, fertilisers and water to wherever it is needed.

As with so many things, the pace of change- even in agriculture- is increasing rapidly, and it turns out that even agriculture is not immune to the changes of the digital age. Technological innovations have the ability to transform every link in the food chain, from seed to fork. The need to embrace the opportunities these innovations offer is real: in order to feed the nearly 10 billion people with whom we will be sharing this planet by 2050, crop and livestock productivity improvements are essential. Agricultural efficiency is still relatively poor: 7 tons of feed is needed to produce just 1 ton of meat. It takes 880 gallons of water to produce one gallon of milk.

"Plant breeding is another interesting application we're pursuing, where robotically gathered plant phenotype data can be collected over much larger breeding experiments that current manual measurement techniques allow," said Kantor. "Machine learning tools can then combine the collected phenotype data with genetic and environmental data to help a breeders and geneticists better understand the relationships between genetics, environment, and plant performance." "This in turn accelerates the breeding process, allowing breeders to evaluate many more plants each season so that they can more quickly select for desirable traits such as yield or disease resistance," adds Kantor. Kantor says this kind of accelerated breeding program could have significant benefit in the developing world such as Subsaharan Africa. The FarmView initiative wants to develop inexpensive robotic systems that small- to medium-scale growers can afford to implement.

The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. China and India, the two largest countries in the world, have populations totaling around one billion. In four years, by 2022, India is predicted to have the largest population in the world, surpassing China. This means we need new ways to grow food that are smarter and helps regulate our use of land, water and energy in order to feed the planet and avoid a global food crisis.

The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. China and India, the two largest countries in the world, have populations totalling around one billion. In four years, by 2022, India is predicted to have the largest population in the world, surpassing China. This means we need new ways to grow food that are smarter and helps regulate our use of land, water and energy in order to feed the planet and avoid a global food crisis. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute believe the answer lies in sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and robots.

The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. China and India, the two largest countries in the world, have populations totalling around one billion. In four years, by 2022, India is predicted to have the largest population in the world, surpassing China. This means we need new ways to grow food that are smarter and helps regulate our use of land, water and energy in order to feed the planet and avoid a global food crisis. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute believe the answer lies in sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and robots.

The world population is expected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050. China and India, the two largest countries in the world, have populations totalling around one billion. In four years, by 2022, India is predicted to have the largest population in the world, surpassing China. This means we need new ways to grow food in a way that's smarter and helps regulate our use of land, water and energy in order to avoid a global food crisis and feed the planet. Researchers at Carnegie Mellon University's Robotics Institute believe the answer lies in sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and robots.