This year, at the Consumer Electronic Show (CES) show in Las Vegas, I had the pleasure of seeing a great presentation from John May, the CEO at John Deere. It was impressive how they have focused on using technology to solve problems for their consumers of heavy equipment.

You can read more about this subject by going directly to their website by clicking the image below:

To paraphrase the message, he made a point, "We don't create tech for tech's sake," This message was delivered against the backdrop of the challenge of feeding a growing population in a world where Labor and land are becoming scarce.

The case for technology:

The world population is projected to grow over the next 25 years by 8 to 10 billion people.

• The Amount of Food required to support population growth is 60% to 70% higher than today
• The available land to harvest food in the US is declining rapidly
• Labor is in scarce supply and costs more

So, how is John Deere planning to help solve this problem? John May outlined ways new sensor technology can detect and remove a single weed. How autonomous technology would enable a tractor to run 24 by 7, thus reducing the need for a human operator. Using the power of AI, a remote system can automatically detect and solve problems using real-time data. Finally, learning how to use renewable energy to power equipment will reduce the need for fossil fuels.

Rapid advancements and innovations from far back in time have allowed us as a species to change, adapt, survive, and thrive. Sometimes, these innovations have unintended consequences that also harm.

Today, great advancements in applying computing power relatively inexpensively to Big Data, AI, and ML technologies can make incredible advancements and possibly do great harm.

Like the increasing lack of Labor for the farming challenge above, there is a similar labor shortage in finding enough engineers and data scientists skilled in physics-driven data. As society progresses, new tools, techniques, and processes must be developed to meet the world's needs.

My intent here is not to delve into the pros and cons or the political dos and don'ts in this blog. Rather, it points out how the evolution of data-driven technologies will bring rapid change to the world in ways we cannot anticipate. 

So, as a company, it will be very important to plan for the promise of these technologies and the threats. 

I recently saw an amazing statistic from a survey Gartner conducted, and they say that 47% of companies do not have a data strategy. If your company still needs a data strategy, it is time to get busy on this task! 

Here at Viviota, we are experts in developing strategies using real-world experience with engineering data. In doing so, we enable R&D organizations to use existing data in ways that can support AI/ML projects and advanced analytics.

Warmest regards,

Barry Hutt
Founder & CRO, Viviota