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Agriculture: AI-powered robots are used to plant, monitor, and harvest crops. Robots with visual scanning capabilities are used to assess whether a plant is a pest in order to treat it with a pesticide. (A pesticide is any substance or mixture of substances that is used to prevent, destroy, repel, or reduce the presence of a pest—insects, weeds, mold, etc.) Autonomous and semi-autonomous drones are now used to check on the health of crops and cattle, search for the presence of pests and assess the degree of flooding of farmland, and apply pesticides and fertilizer (a natural or chemical substance that is added to the soil to help make plants grow better). AI-enabled apps are also being developed and used in agriculture. For example, PlantVillage and the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture have developed a mobile app called Nuru (which is Swahili for “light”) that uses AI and machine learning to teach computers how to recognize symptoms of disease on crops. The user installs the app on their smartphone, takes a photo of the diseased plant, and a disease diagnosis is quickly provided. The app also provides disease-management information and advice. Aviation: The commercial airline industry has used autopilot (a form of AI) for decades to fly its jets. The New York Times reports that the average flight of a Boeing aircraft involves only seven minutes of pilot-steered flight—typically for takeoffs and landings. AI software handles the rest. Banking: Have you ever watched your mom or dad quickly scan and deposit a check by using a smartphone app? If so, they can thank AI and machine-learning technology, which deciphers handwriting on checks and converts it into text via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. Business: Companies are using AI to hire workers, forecast demand for their products or services, and communicate with customers. They also are using AI to monitor employees to see if they are working hard, wearing required safety gear, and interacting effectively with coworkers. While this type of use of AI can improve worker productivity, it’s also controversial. Many people worry that the

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