DAVOS, SWITZERLAND — University of Memphis Executive Vice President for Research and Innovation Dr. Jasbir Dhaliwal spoke during a high-level panel discussion in Davos, urging global institutions to recommit to research that impacts the public good. Inside the Davos Lodge, an invite-only conference held alongside the World Economic Forum, Dhaliwal’s panel — “Democratizing Agricultural Intelligence Through A.I.” — focused on how A.I. can help solve the world’s escalating food-security crisis.
“For too long, large, technology companies and private universities with large endowments have cornered the market for research funding in both agriculture and artificial intelligence,” Dhaliwal said during the panel. “This is the moment for Carnegie R1 research universities — public universities like the University of Memphis — to step forward and say, ‘We are going to take on this challenge, this responsibility … public service for the public good.’”
Dhaliwal sat alongside leaders from GlobeScan, an advisory group that focuses on sustainability, and the Institute of Applied Artificial Intelligence and Robotics (IAAIR). The IAAIR is located in the University of Memphis Research Park and is the brainchild of Germantown, Tenn.-based serial technology entrepreneur and global visionary Jason Fisher. Srikanth Thudumu, IAAIR’s director of AI, spoke of the technological solution to the food crisis. The solution, in theory, is OpenAg, a global, open-source agricultural AI ecosystem that’s designed to give farmers everywhere access to contextualized agricultural intelligence, one that isn’t being locked behind corporations, governments or private interest groups.
“The foundation for building the contextualized version of it is not yet there,” Thudumu said. “(A farmer) wouldn’t punch their problems into ChatGPT and base their decision off that answer. And so, we’re trying to add that tacit experience: scientific publications, technical reports and farmer expertise to build small language models.”
Africa was used as an example of where OpenAg could be used. Panelists like Thudumu said the continent’s food crises stem from the lack of farming knowledge, farmers not knowing how to farm specific crops in their specific areas. For Dhaliwal, he sees research from public institutions in the U.S. playing a vital role in accelerating the development and implementation of OpenAg.
“It’s time to focus on not building dependency on aid but helping farmers to farm for themselves,” said Dhaliwal. “It’s time for (public universities) to wake up and say, ‘We are going to do what it takes to decentralize the power of this technology and have impact where it matters, like with farmers all over the world.’”
Moderated by Dr. Josh Ayers from the University of Exeter in the United Kingdom, Dhaliwal was introduced to spectators as the head of research of “a major university in the heart of the AI revolution happening in the United States — Memphis, Tennessee,” showcasing the strong footing the Bluff City finds itself on in the vastly changing world of AI.
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