The food and beverage industry landscape is undergoing seismic changes driven by the application of Artificial Intelligence (AI), and it looks like AI will play an increasingly pivotal role in its future. The adoption of generative AI is set to transform the nature of work in the food sector, with tools replacing certain tasks and transforming work profiles in the food industry.
We are all still coming to terms with the potential impact of Artificial Intelligence; we are seeing the start of the fourth industrial revolution. On the positive side, AI will enable us to deliver an even higher level of food safety, as exemplified by using AI and optical imaging. We will be able to identify pathogens quickly and accurately in food, helping to prevent food-borne outbreaks and illnesses. The adoption of AI and machine learning will also enable us to become more aware of food safety risks in our manufacturing environments and be able to pinpoint and take corrective actions. We will see intelligent (smart) factories that can deal with large data sets generated by sensors, factory equipment or CCTV. AI will also enable us to analyse these data sets and present results in easily understandable formats. It will also help to provide greater insight, transparency and understanding of the increasingly complex global food system.
It will no doubt assist in improving crop yields, quality, nutrition, and traceability while decreasing resource consumption while hopefully helping to reduce food waste. One of its greatest applications could be its role in helping to reduce world hunger and the impact of food systems on anthropogenic climate change. I personally also look forward to how AI can be deployed on an individual level to provide personalised nutrition and improve our own diets. There is no area of the food and beverage industry it will not touch.
Conversely, AI will undoubtedly replace many traditional scientific and technical jobs in the food sector, much in the same way mechanisation impacted agricultural and artisan workers. Certainly, the job opportunities available in the sector will be dramatically different in the future, with estimates that 40% of jobs will be affected.
The Artificial Intelligence revolution is about so much more than clever algorithms making sense of billions of data points. AI is likely to have a form of ‘sentience;’ it could demonstrate creativity, innovation and thought. One of our sector's most creative areas is new product development, which requires a high degree of innovative thought. Could a thinking computer take different data points and create a brand-new product or recipe from scratch without any human intervention at all? We are already seeing this happening in different fields such as in the creation of new types of lithium batteries.
We will increasingly see this type of application to the development of new products, new flavours and the shortening of development time. AI could also be