[elcritch]

Mock it we might now, but 12 acres and (not too distant future) open weights AI models capable of driving open source robots for farm labor would be huge.

No need for huge expensive purpose built tractors. Even if they’re slow you could have half a dozen running 24/7.

It could provide independence for anyone with a modicum of resources.

[voidUpdate]

I'd probably want something other than an LLM running farming machines. I'd rather a purpose build machine learning system that is actually designed to run them, not just a tractor that goes "you're absolutely right! I ignored all the rules you set for me and harvested the wheat 2 months early. It's not just stupid, it's irresponsible"

[Marha01]

> I'd rather a purpose build machine learning system that is actually designed to run them

If generalist robotic models get good enough to accomplish many varied tasks effectively, training a separate comparable specialized system from scratch for every task would be highly cost-ineffective, even if, in theory, it could have slightly higher reliability.

[stonogo]

What do you imagine the farming robots will look like? I'm betting they look like expensive purpose built tractors.

[wolttam]

We're not going to go down the path of training a bunch of highly specialized models for tasks like "this tractor should tend this field".

We're going to (and are already on the way to) train deeply general models that can be told: "go tend that field."

And if that's the case, it no longer makes sense to build specialized, purpose-built tractors to house that level of autonomous capability. You instead put it in a humanoid frame (with a little extra sauce for locomotion of said humanoid), and get that to drive your existing tractor.

[elcritch]

Well true, that's possible. The sensors and compute are relatively expensive and tractors are already highly automated. Plus a small tractor can be relatively inexpensive and optimized for the mechanics of the task!

I'm thinking more of the small tasks that are often needed. Mending fences. Pulling weeds. Feeding chickens. Running off coyotes. Lots of things.

[int_19h]

It's not an either-or. Generalist models can drive training of specialized models just fine. And while I haven't seen a generalist model decide by itself to train a specialized model to complete some large task, this seems like a natural extension of what they already do wrt writing their own tooling as needed.

[defrost]

And yet actual farmers veer toward Ag-bots - autonomous "tractors" that have no human driver and pull the same farming trailer that already exist - ploughs, seeding bars, spray bars, etc.

The greater question centres about who will tend the machines - 4,000 hectares of seeding requires a week and more of prep work on the air seeder, hoses, points, tines, etc.

[wolttam]

I would think that this is because those are what is currently available, and that this would change when actually capable humanoids start coming on to the market. It will become possible to re-use existing equipment (providing the largest uplift to farmers who haven't already begun the process of heavy automation, which is a lot of them when you look at a global scale). Humanoids will be more accessible than the bulking 8 ton autonomous "tractor".

Due to the scale of pre-training going on, it seems reasonable that a humanoid could also do a lot of the preliminary work you mentioned that currently is not (or rarely) automated.

On one hand I feel like I'm sure to catch some ridicule for saying any of this, on the other it seems like it is very obviously the direction we're headed.

[defrost]

How much current and past direct hands on experience do you have with mining and agriculture?

The Rio Tinto plans for automated mining of the Resolution Copper deposit in the USofA don't revolve about "humanoid" figures sitting in seats made for humans.

Large acreage continuously producing near fully automated tomato greenhouses don't work with humanoid shaped automata - they have poles with cameras and shaking mechanisms for pollinating, etc.

It's a much simpler fighter jet that doesn't have to carry a human.

[mountainriver]

The new frontier! I love it