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> will be replaced with robots wielding lasers That's a very confident prediction for something that sounds quite unlikely to me. How about biologically engin

> will be replaced with robots wielding lasers That's a very confident prediction for something that sounds quite unlikely to me. How about biologically engineered insects/bacteria that destroy weeds and pests? How about pesticides which don't have the downsides of what's currently used?

moritonal 2y ago
We're pretty confidently letting AI drive 2 ton metal vehicles on the road, and letting them fly around in the sky with grenades. A farmer-bot with a laser sounds pretty tame to me.
- shagie 2y ago
  12 years ago: Our Tractor Literally Drives Itself! (GPS Auto Steering Technology) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStRc1fCj38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStRc1fCj38 It has a guidance system that is connected to a wheel that is friction attached to the steering wheel and turns it on an old tractor. A newer system with an old tractor - https://youtu.be/t0uIYjOds_o https://youtu.be/t0uIYjOds_o Newer tractors have this built in. The modern tractor cab is a mini data center. https://youtu.be/ZhOvchjeqgM https://youtu.be/ZhOvchjeqgM (and you can see that he's not touching the wheel most of the time)
dghlsakjg 2y ago
Read the article you are commenting on, these alternatives are mentioned. Laser wielding AI robots already exist, and are being used commercially.
- Qworg 2y ago
  If you'd like to see a successful one at scale: https://carbonrobotics.com/ https://carbonrobotics.com/
margalabargala 2y ago
Laser-wielding robots are already being successfully deployed to combat weeds at scale on farms across the US. > How about biologically engineered insects/bacteria that destroy weeds and pests? How about pesticides which don't have the downsides of what's currently used? Aside from these not currently existing, they also have far worse failure modes than robots with lasers. Introducing species for biological control methods have a long and storied history of becoming a problem as bad as or worse than the original problem.
- ceejayoz 2y ago
  The article does note that this may similarly cause plants to fight back. Nothing so cool as mirrored weeds, but... > It’s not just chemicals. Weeds can become resistant to any type of control method. In a classic example from China, a weed called barnyard grass evolved over centuries to resemble rice and thus evade hand weeding.
shagie 2y ago
Weed lasers in Idaho - https://youtu.be/lWTDwj1y9Xg https://youtu.be/lWTDwj1y9Xg
wlesieutre 2y ago
https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder https://carbonrobotics.com/laserweeder https://carbonrobotics.com/laserweeder

moritonal 2y ago

We're pretty confidently letting AI drive 2 ton metal vehicles on the road, and letting them fly around in the sky with grenades. A farmer-bot with a laser sounds pretty tame to me.

shagie 2y ago
12 years ago: Our Tractor Literally Drives Itself! (GPS Auto Steering Technology) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStRc1fCj38 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YStRc1fCj38 It has a guidance system that is connected to a wheel that is friction attached to the steering wheel and turns it on an old tractor. A newer system with an old tractor - https://youtu.be/t0uIYjOds_o https://youtu.be/t0uIYjOds_o Newer tractors have this built in. The modern tractor cab is a mini data center. https://youtu.be/ZhOvchjeqgM https://youtu.be/ZhOvchjeqgM (and you can see that he's not touching the wheel most of the time)

dghlsakjg 2y ago

Read the article you are commenting on, these alternatives are mentioned. Laser wielding AI robots already exist, and are being used commercially.

Qworg 2y ago
If you'd like to see a successful one at scale: https://carbonrobotics.com/ https://carbonrobotics.com/

margalabargala 2y ago

Laser-wielding robots are already being successfully deployed to combat weeds at scale on farms across the US. > How about biologically engineered insects/bacteria that destroy weeds and pests? How about pesticides which don't have the downsides of what's currently used? Aside from these not currently existing, they also have far worse failure modes than robots with lasers. Introducing species for biological control methods have a long and storied history of becoming a problem as bad as or worse than the original problem.

ceejayoz 2y ago
The article does note that this may similarly cause plants to fight back. Nothing so cool as mirrored weeds, but... > It’s not just chemicals. Weeds can become resistant to any type of control method. In a classic example from China, a weed called barnyard grass evolved over centuries to resemble rice and thus evade hand weeding.

shagie 2y ago

Weed lasers in Idaho - https://youtu.be/lWTDwj1y9Xg https://youtu.be/lWTDwj1y9Xg

wlesieutre 2y ago

https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder https://carbonrobotics.com/autonomous-weeder https://carbonrobotics.com/laserweeder https://carbonrobotics.com/laserweeder