These 'food computers' can maximize the deliciousness of your vegetables
Thanks, AI!
Researchers are using artificially intelligent greenhouses to grow vegetables for maximum deliciousness, said Adele Peters at Fast Company. MIT Media Lab has developed "food computers" that constantly adjust their internal climate to find the perfect combination of light, humidity, and nutrients for the specific crop growing inside. The resulting "climate recipes" can be tweaked to make vegetables tastier by boosting a plant's production of specific flavor molecules. Food computers could also make agriculture more sustainable.
"Instead of shipping avocados from Mexico to China, a Chinese greenhouse could precisely re-create a Mexican climate in Beijing." They would also eliminate the need for genetic modification, says Babak Hodjat, CEO of Sentient Technologies, whose software powers the computers. "You’re not messing with the plant's DNA," he says.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Political cartoons for January 25Cartoons Sunday's political cartoons include a hot economy, A.I. wisdom, and more
-
Le Pen back in the dock: the trial that’s shaking FranceIn the Spotlight Appealing her four-year conviction for embezzlement, the Rassemblement National leader faces an uncertain political future, whatever the result
-
The doctors’ strikesThe Explainer Resident doctors working for NHS England are currently voting on whether to go out on strike again this year