Our Approach
In order to accelerate critical solutions to these challenges, AIFS will bring artificial intelligence technology to the entire food system from crop breeding and farming to food production and nutrition. The institute will combine the development of the latest breakthroughs in artificial intelligence with preparing the food and agriculture industries to rapidly adopt them and ready the workforce.
AIFS brings together more than 40 researchers from six institutions: UC Davis; UC Berkeley; Cornell University; the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign; UC Agriculture and Natural Resources; and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Research Service.
Our plan is to grow the institute over the coming years into the world’s leading source of research, development and commercialization of novel AI-based solutions in food and agriculture through a three-pronged strategy of multidisciplinary science, industry engagement and workforce development.
Funding for the institute is provided by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture as part of a larger initiative led by the U.S. National Science Foundation to establish new artificial intelligence institutes to accelerate research, expand America’s workforce and transform society in the decades to come.
Research Areas
The institute’s research focus is organized into six areas
- Molecular Breeding
- Agricultural Production
- Food Processing and Distribution
- Nutrition
- Core AI Technology
- Socioeconomic Impact of AI
Unique Solutions
AIFS approach tackles three key challenges in its implementation by:
- Integrating digital and biological technologies to provide solutions that address the complexity and diversity of food systems
- Developing models and obtaining data sets for AI that are publicly available
- Improving the safety, efficiency, and accuracy of food system tasks that requires human involvement and decision-making