It's all digital

Facebook, Google plan AI takeover

Is it Skynet? No, it’s the future.

Tech giants Google and Facebook are both dedicating substantial resources to artificial intelligence.

The social networking site recently partnered with New York University’s Center for Data Science to research data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg hired Yann LeCun, a NYU professor of computer and neural sciences, to be the director of Facebook’s AI Group. LeCun posted about his new gig and the new laboratory on Facebook and Google+.

LeCun claims the new group will have teams in multiple offices, including New York, London and Menlo Park, Calif. Facebook founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg commented on the social network’s interest in AI during an earnings call in October: “The goal here is to use new approaches in AI to help make sense of all the content that people share so we can generate new insights.”

Facebook’s millions of users are actively sharing their personal information with the social network every time they interact with it. AI could play a key role in deciphering this data.

Facebook routinely discusses its goal of putting the right content in front of the right people. Artificial intelligence could help the company to achieve better results for targeted ads and news feed improvements.

Facebook isn’t the only tech company pouring resources into artificial intelligence. Earlier this year, Google hired Ray Kurzweil, one of the top scientists in the field, and a proponent of “hard AI” – the idea that it is possible to create consciousness in an artificial being. Add that to Google’s ongoing quest to develop an artificial brain, and you either get a little excited or concerned, depending on how you feel about robots that think for themselves.

In 1999, Kurzweil predicted that in a decade, self-driving cars and mobile phones that can answer your questions would exist. His predictions were dismissed as the unrealistic proclamations of a futurist, but Google hopes he will apply the same kind of vision to help the search engine giant stay at the forefront of the tech world. — Matt McClellan

For the interview with Kurzweil: http://www.wired.com/business/2013/04/kurzweil-google-ai/.

For info on Google brain: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2012/06/using-large-scale-brain-simulations-for.html
 

Multimedia Minute

Integrated plant handling with forks and robots
John Kawola, CEO of Harvest Automation, and Rob Lando, president of AgriNomix discuss how automation in the greenhouse or nursery can significantly reduce the labor required for container spacing, collection and consolidation.
Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/GMforksrobots

Attracting pollinators
Denise Ellsworth, program director for honey bee and native pollinator education at OSU Extension, discusses what types of plants growers can market as attractive to bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds.
Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/GMpollinators

Greenhouse pest control
Lindsay Schramm and Elisa Clark from North End Organic Nursery discuss several strategies to keep unwanted bugs out of your greenhouse.
Watch the video here: http://bit.ly/GMpests

Is Vine next big thing?

Vine is the newest kid on the digital block. You may have seen your kids sending short videos back and forth with their friends, or maybe you read that the video sharing app was acquired by Twitter for more than $30 million – before Vine had even launched. Or maybe you’ve never heard of it until now.

The paradox of a “vine” is that although it is short, it goes on forever. The video clips are limited to six seconds, but they play on a loop. So after a clip is finished, it starts over again. And again. And again. When Twitter acquired Vine in October 2012 — before the app had even launched — the social network explained the move as part of their search for the next big thing. Living up to expectations, the video sharing app saw 403% growth between Q1 and Q3 of 2013.

It’s a sign of how fast the digital world moves. It seems like yesterday that Twitter was the hip, new digital app. Now, Twitter is an elder statesman of the digital scene. Publicly-traded as of Nov. 7, Twitter is in a social tech war with Facebook. Both companies are looking for ways for their users to easily upload and share videos. This summer, Facebook launched video for its own social image-sharing complementary app, Instagram – a move specifically targeted to compete with Vine.

So should you care about Vine? That depends on how you want to use it, and if you believe your business could benefit from short videos shot from a mobile phone and easily shared through your existing social media network.

Some might say Vine’s six-second video clips are tailor-made for our ever-diminishing attention span.

Vine is available as a free download on the three major smartphone platforms: Android, iOS, and Windows Phone.

— M.M.

From Twitter

Syngenta US @SyngentaUS RT @BillVerbeten:
Check out how #weed resistance has spread in the US with this interactive map. @SyngentaUS resistancefighter.com/news.aspx

Greenhouse Geek @GhsFanatic
Easing the Pain of Greenhouse Storm Damage ow.ly/rFv7m

Growing Spaces @GrowingSpaces
Lovely update from Ridge Berry Farm in Ontario, Canada. Winter’s moving in and they’re still growing! ow.ly/rCW1o

Jonathan Rick @JRick @GreenhouseMag
Thanks a million for citing my article about endless tweets in your December issue!

Michigan State University Extension @MSUENews
Holidays don’t have to equal weight gain #health #christmas ow.ly/rJPe2

The Atlantic @TheAtlantic
“I am not joking when I say: it is easier to read Ulysses than it is to read the Internet.” —@alexismadrigal theatln.tc/1d9vSXI

Fast Company @FastCompany
So what exactly did your team accomplish today? Oh that’s right: you probably don’t know. f-st.co/hkI8eVg

Ron Wolford @UrbanGarden
Register for Herb Day on January 18 at the University of Illinois bit.ly/1cEMrL6

Brock Road Nursery @BrockRdNursery
Very cool! RT @CDNGardening @NikiJabbour A quick and easy DIY gift: Festive terrarium ornaments! bit.ly/1eaGGdl

Get news updates from the industry straight to your iPhone, iPod touch or iPad by downloading GIE Media’s Horticulture News app at bit.ly/PxVsLU.

Plus, get the latest issues of Greenhouse Management and Produce Grower magazines on-the-go in the app store!