Chinese farmers are using AI to keep tabs on their pigs
Big Brother has an eye on the sty. 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.
Why AI? 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. That means “relying on manpower is already not enough,” according to its CIO.
How it helps: The AI should create efficiences that take some strain out of looking after all those animals. It will help farmers keep track of the health of their pigs, for instance, and allow them to establish which ones will give birth to healthy offspring.
Deep Dive
Artificial intelligence
An AI startup made a hyperrealistic deepfake of me that’s so good it’s scary
Synthesia's new technology is impressive but raises big questions about a world where we increasingly can’t tell what’s real.
What I learned from the UN’s “AI for Good” summit
OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman was the star speaker of the summit.
This AI-powered “black box” could make surgery safer
A new smart monitoring system could help doctors avoid mistakes—but it’s also alarming some surgeons and leading to sabotage.
Is robotics about to have its own ChatGPT moment?
Researchers are using generative AI and other techniques to teach robots new skills—including tasks they could perform in homes.
Stay connected
Get the latest updates from
MIT Technology Review
Discover special offers, top stories, upcoming events, and more.