Page 24 - aruba-today-20180414

A24 TECHNOLOGY
Saturday 14 april 2018
Bovines online: Farmers are using AI to help monitor cows

By RYAN NAKASHIMA open-source TensorFlow
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Is programming framework,
the world ready for cows which has helped spread
armed with artificial intel- AI to many disciplines. It's
ligence? a language built on top of
No time to ruminate on that the commonly used Python
because the moment has code that helps connect
arrived, thanks to a Dutch data from text, images,
company that has married audio or sensors to neural
two technologies — motion networks — the algorithms
sensors and AI — with the that help computers learn.
aim of bringing the barn- The language has been
yard into the 21st century. downloaded millions of
The company, Connecter- times and has about 1,400
ra, has brought its IDA sys- people contributing code,
tem , or "The Intelligent only 400 of whom work
Dairy Farmer's Assistant," to at Google, according to
the United States after hav- product manager Sand-
ing piloted it in Europe for eep Gupta.
several years. He says TensorFlow can be
IDA uses a motion-sensing used by people with only
device attached to a cow's high-school level math and
neck to transmit its move- some programming skills.
ments to a program driv- In this undated photo provided by Google, a person uses a phone to monitor a cow's IDA, or “The "We're continuing this jour-
en by AI. The sensor data, Intelligent Dairy Farmer’s Assistant,” device in a pasture on Seven Oaks Dairy in Waynesboro, Ga. ney making it easier and
when aligned repeatedly Associated Press easier to use," Gupta says.
with real-world behavior, TensorFlow has been used
eventually allows IDA to tell son, one of the first four U.S. from using this technology tween rows of cotton. to do everything from help-
from data alone when a farmers to use IDA since it ... I think adoption of IDA Yasir Khokhar, the former ing NASA scientists find
cow is chewing cud, lying launched commercially in across a broad range of Microsoft employee who planets using the Kepler
down, walking, drinking or December. farming systems, particu- is the founder and CEO of telescope, to assisting a
eating. Watson, who owns the Sev- larly large farming systems, Connecterra, said the in- tribe in the Amazon detect
Those indicators can pre- en Oaks Dairy in Waynes- would be a no-brainer," spiration for the idea came the sounds of illegal de-
dict whether a particular boro, Georgia, says having Watson says. after living on a dairy farm forestation, according to
cow is ill, has become less a computer identify which Dairy farming is just one in- south of Amsterdam. Google spokesman Justin
productive, or is ready to cows in his 2,000-head herd dustry benefiting from AI, "It turns out the technology Burr.
breed — alerting the farm- need attention could help which is being applied in farmers use is really out- Google hopes users adapt
er to changes in behavior improve farm productiv- fields as diverse as journal- dated in many respects," the open-source code to
that might otherwise be ity as much as 10 percent, ism, manufacturing and he says. "What does ex- discover new applications
easily missed. which would mean hun- self-driving cars. In agricul- ist is very cumbersome to that the company could
"It would just be impossible dreds of thousands of dol- ture, AI is being developed use, yet agriculture is one someday use in its own
for us to keep up with ev- lars to his family. to estimate crop health of those areas that desper- business. Even without AI,
ery animal on an individual "If we can prove out that using drone footage and ately needs technology." sensors are helping farmers
basis," says Richard Wat- these advantages exist parse out weed killer be- Underlying IDA is Google's keep tabs on their herds.q

Russian court blocks popular

messaging app in privacy row

is arguably the first widely post on his Telegram chan- to comment on court rul-
popular means of commu- nel that the company ings.
nications in Russia that has would not back down in Telegram was still available
been officially banned. the face of the Russian late Friday afternoon in Rus-
Telegram, which was de- intelligence services be- sia, several hours after the
The website of the Telegram messaging app is seen on a com- veloped by Russian en- cause the court hearing, court ruling.
puter's screen in Moscow, Russia, Friday, April 13, 2018. trepreneur Pavel Durov, which lasted about 20 min- Durov in a social media
Associated Press argues that Russia's FSB in- utes, showed that the case post on Friday called on
telligence service is violat- against Telegram is politi- Telegram users in Rus-
MOSCOW (AP) — A Russian Telegram be blocked in ing consumer rights, while cally motivated. sia not to delete the app
court on Friday ordered Russia until it hands over the authorities say the app has "It is impossible to make any and keep downloading
that a popular messaging keys to its encryption. been used by violent ex- concessions or accept any updates, promising that
app, Telegram, be blocked The ban comes after a pro- tremists. agreements in this situa- the latest version will have
after the company re- tracted dispute between Durov had asked his law- tion," he said. "built-in" features that will
jected to share encryption Telegram and Russian au- yers not to attend Friday's Dmitry Peskov, spokesman be able to circumvent the
data with authorities. thorities, who insist they court hearing because he for President Vladimir Putin, ban. "Privacy is not for sale,
The Moscow court ruled in need access to the en- said he saw the verdict as whose team uses Telegram and human rights should
favor of the Russian com- cryption keys to investigate a foregone conclusion. to arrange briefings for re- not be compromised out of
munications watchdog, serious crimes, including Pavel Chikov, one of Tele- porters, said on Friday that fear or greed," he said.
which had demanded that terrorist attacks. Telegram gram's lawyers, said in a it is not the Kremlin's place q