Generative AI, a type of Artificial Intelligence that involves creating new content or solutions, based on the generation of new data, scenarios, and models, is emerging as a game-changer in driving innovation, with significant social and environmental potential at the food-health-climate nexus.
Novel insights, driven by analyses of vast amounts of data, based on broad stakeholder engagement, can transform how food companies innovate. These insights have the power to optimize productivity, accelerate sustainability, and enhance human health, ensuring that food production meets the needs of both consumers and producers without compromising planetary health.
According to a recent survey by the Capgemini Research Institute, around 40% of food and beverage companies are currently utilizing AI, with many also exploring generative AI.
To improve global food security and sustainability, innovation is essential, and generative AI has the capability to enhance inclusivity within the innovation process.
Power dynamics in the food sector place significant control in the hands of a few key players who influence decisions regarding what food is grown, where and when it is produced, and how it is processed, distributed, and consumed. Sustainable development demands more diverse perspectives in decision-making.
“Critical tech decisions in healthcare, climate, and food have been monopolized by a narrow clique of privileged voices for far too long,” affirms Yasmin Shmuel, CEO and Co-Founder of KLEVER AI, an AI and machine learning platform featuring “decision rooms” that harness “collective decision intelligence,” to unlock valuable insights, drive operational efficiency, and make data-driven decisions with confidence.
KLEVER AI’s decision-making technology has applications across various industries, with significant potential for health and food and beverage. Considering that food systems account for a third of global anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions and consume 70% of the world’s freshwater resources, leveraging generative AI in this sector could drive substantial positive global change.
The first UN Food Systems Summit (UNFSS), held in September 2021, made it clear that the transformation of food systems requires the active participation and inclusion of all stakeholders. This approach not only ensures that diverse perspectives and knowledge are leveraged but also promotes equity, innovation, and resilience.
“The long-term public benefits food systems must deliver and challenge the short-term individual interests that currently distort our food systems,” said African Food Fellowship Director Joost Guijt, in support of the summit’s objectives.
Shmuel believes that Klever AI’s approach to generative AI is a catalyst for change in such industries, which have long been dominated by what she refers to as “homogeneous thinking.” She emphasizes the staggering 70% failure rate in tech adoption as evidence of a system that is not working.
“Lives hang in the balance, yet we’re still allowing the same insular group of decision-makers to dictate our future,” she says. “Diversity of thought unlocks boundless potential.
Yasmin Shmuel, CEO and Co-Founder of KLEVER AI says that decisions in healthcare, climate, and food … [+]
Data-driven food systems can revolutionize production, distribution, and consumption. By leveraging generative AI throughout the supply chain, companies can enhance sustainability, optimize operations, improve sourcing, and adopt circular economy practices.
In the realm of food sustainability and precision agriculture, generative AI can analyze complex datasets to recommend practices that reduce environmental impact while enhancing productivity. For example, AI can optimize crop rotations and resource use, ensuring sustainable agricultural practices that align with environmental goals.
“For agriculture, it’s coming at us in ways that make it easier for producers to do their job, and do it better,” said Nina Schick, founder of Tamang Ventures, in her keynote at evokeAG. 2024.
According to data from AI4D Africa, despite representing just 2.5% of the global AI market, emerging applications could boost Africa’s economic growth by $2.9 trillion by 2030. Currently, about half of AI on the continent has agricultural applications.
In 2023, Viamo launched Ask Viamo Anything— a generative AI voice assistant— on its platforms in Zambia and Nigeria, providing free, crucial information via feature phones without internet access. This service was particularly beneficial for those with low literacy and marginalized groups like women and persons with disabilities. Pilot results indicated women asked 50% more questions than men in Zambia and 30% more in Nigeria. The platform has 1.35 million users in Nigeria alone.
According to data from AI4D Africa, emerging applications of AI could boost Africa’s economic growth … [+]
Generative AI also has a pivotal role in addressing health-related aspects of food production.
Given that nine of the top fifteen global risk factors for morbidity, such as high body mass index (BMI), high blood pressure, cardiac disease, diabetes, and malnutrition, are linked to poor diet, the transformative implications are vast.
By analyzing nutritional data, consumer behavior, and health outcomes, AI can help design food products that promote better health. This synergy between food and health technology can lead to the development of functional foods that address specific health issues, such as diabetes or heart disease, thus contributing to overall public health.
At IFT FIRST, the annual event of the Institute of Food Technologists which took place in July, Nora Khaldi, CEO of Nuritas, a Biotechnology company in Dublin, Ireland, showed how generative AI was being used to optimize food production to promote better health for consumers.
Khaldi explained that Nuritas is using generative AI to determine the “types of ingredients that the industry likes [and] how can we create something that’s better, but like it.”
One example is Nuritas’ development of an ingredient called PeptiStrong, to enhance muscle health.
Nuritas’ PeptiStrong®, a natural muscle builder, was developed with the support of generative AI. It … [+]
“It’s an ingredient that would have taken 30 million years to discover through traditional ways,” she explained. “Through AI we can shorten that down to two years.”
Notco, a food-tech company, employs AI to create plant-based substitutes for animal products, while Nutrino utilizes AI algorithms to provide personalized dietary recommendations, helping individuals make informed food choices for a healthier lifestyle.
Generative AI has also supported product development for flavor, seasonings and spices manufacturer, McCormick & Company.
McCormick’s proprietary generative AI-powered product platform, “ONE,” uses insights extracted from datasets on consumer preferences and market trends to develop new products, featuring unique flavor combinations that meet its customers’ changing tastes.
From a supply chain perspective, generative AI has the potential to enhance innovation, profitability, and sustainability from farm to fork by improving forecasting, traceability, safety, and waste reduction.
According to a study conducted by Bain, some 68% of executives believe that digital traceability is essential, and with a third of all food produced globally going to waste, AI helps ensure that food is produced and distributed more efficiently, minimizing surplus and spoilage.
Walmart is using generative AI to optimize its supply chain, forecasting product demand, enhancing its ability to manage inventory and streamline shipment tracking.
Generative AI facilitates vertical integration by breaking down silos, allowing companies to seamlessly coordinate and optimize processes across different stages of production and distribution, with opportunities for inclusivity, and enhanced sustainability.
According to the R&D director of a large healthcare enterprise that leveraged technology from KLEVER AI, the medical industry “has been glacially slow to adapt,” and KLEVER’s generative AI platform “is forcing us to confront the fact that our siloed approach has been stunting our growth.”
Both producers and consumers have an equally critical role to play in creating change, but processes must be implemented to allow voices on both sides to be heard.
“The overworked nurse, the skeptical climate scientist, the food safety advocate fighting for stringent regulations— these aren’t just token voices; they’re the backbone of innovation,” says Andriy Golubitskiy, Chief Technology Officer at KLEVER AI.
“We’re not interested in echo chambers or yes-men,” agrees Javier Sanchez, KLEVER’s VP of AI. “Our AI thrives on dissent, on the messy reality of complex industries.
By amplifying the voices of engineers—voices that have been systematically overlooked—the team at KLEVER says that it has seen decisions become six times faster and three times more effective. This approach has essentially redefined what “expertise” means in healthcare, climate, and food tech, bringing the insights of women leaders, climate scientists in the field, and food safety experts on the front lines into the fold.
“These are the people intimately familiar with the tech that impacts our lives every day. Their perspectives aren’t just valuable—they’re vital,” says Shmuel.
This sentiment is echoed across industries, demonstrating that the integration of diverse perspectives not only accelerates innovation but also enhances the effectiveness and sustainability of technology decisions.
As AI continues to shape the future of food and health, ethical considerations and collaborative efforts are paramount. Generative AI has the potential to create more fairness, transparency, and accountability. The inclusion of diverse voices is not just an ethical imperative but a strategic necessity to develop solutions that are innovative, equitable and sustainable.
The stakes for relying on outdated approaches to decision-making across the food system are incredibly high.
Generative AI and machine learning solutions transform and empower food businesses to thrive in the digital age, gain a competitive edge, and fulfill their social and environmental responsibilities.
“Our current decision-making processes are not good enough,” affirms Shmuel. “They’re costing lives, stifling innovation, and perpetuating a system that values conformity over competence. As AI guru Andrew Ng said, ‘AI will not disrupt people; people that use AI will disrupt people who do not use AI.’ It’s time to embrace AI as a tool for revolutionary change, not as a competitor.”