ASHS 2024 Conference

Sponsoring Professional Interest Groups
Technology: Coordinator Milt McGiffen - milt.mcgiffen@ucr.edu
Teaching Methods: Coordinator, Kathryn Orvis – orvis@purdue.edu
Controlled Environment: Coordinator, Kent Kobayashi - kentko@hawaii.edu

Supporting Professional Interest Groups
Federal Partners: Matthew Mattia - Matthew.Mattia@usda.gov
Plant Biotech: Kedong Da - kda@ncsu.edu
Ornamentals/Landscape and Turf; Youping Sun - youping.sun@usu.edu
Local Food Systems: Charles H. Parrish II - chip.parrish@pm.me

Artificial intelligence and related topics, e.g., robotics, have been a long time coming in agriculture. For decades there have been predictions of intelligent robots replacing humans, and large farms run by a few humans with many autonomous tractors and other devices. But with the now widespread use of artificial intelligence in everyday life,
the moment has arrived. We developed this colloquium by casting a wide net out to all the Professional Interest Group Chairs, and have assembled talks and demonstrations from general topics to specific applications.

Two online meetings were held, where Professional Interest Groups officers and those interested suggested speakers and discussed topics. Further discussions over email helped fill in the details to create this colloquium.

We will have a block of speakers for the diverse topics we present below, as well as panel discussions on how AI is and can be incorporated into various aspects of Horticulture, so that there is ample time for questions and discussion.

Title: Overview of the Colloquium

Speaker: Milt McGiffen, Cooperative Extension Specialist, Department of Botany and Plant Sciences,
University of California, Riverside, CA.

AI in Ornamentals

Title: FloraCount: An App for Rapid Assessment of Pollinator Attractiveness to Annuals and Perennial Plants.

Description: Customers are interested in buying annuals and perennials that support pollinators. Protocols for rapid assessment in flower trail evaluations are not available. We have developed a mobile app that can be used to analyze in real time the users’ observational data and quantitatively rank the relative utility of observed cultivars to pollinator communities. This app takes into account pollinator groups, relevant floral characteristics and landscape.

Presenter: Harland Patch
Assistant Research Professor
Department of Entomology
Penn State University
549 Ag Sciences & Industries Building
University Park, PA 16802

Title: Approach to Biodiversity Protection: Employing AI and IoT Systems for the
Containment of Box Tree Moth Proliferation.

Description: The box tree moth (BTM, Cydalima perspectalis) is an invasive pest first confirmed in Niagara County, New York in 2021. This invasive pest can significantly damage and potentially kill boxwood (Buxus species) plants if left unchecked. This presentation describes our advances in combining deep learning algorithms for enhanced computer vision with IoT-enabled smart traps, to facilitate the early detection and continuous monitoring of BTM populations and to protect the prevalent ornamental boxwood in U.S. landscapes.

Presenter: Yanqiu Yang (she/her)
Ph.D. Graduate Research Assistant
Department of Agricultural and Biological Engineering
Pennsylvania State University
3 Agricultural Engineering Building
University Park, PA 16802

Title: Landscapes from Words: The Future of Landscape Design with AI.

Description: The ongoing text-to-graphic artificial intelligence (AI) revolution has the potential to change the field of Landscape Architecture dramatically. The ability to produce original high-quality graphics, manipulate the viewer's perspective of images, and amend the rendering style through text inputs are significant advancements that will
inform new design process models. These changes can lead to expanded design exploration, improved accessibility for non-designers to contribute to creating visual concepts, enhanced ability to integrate data analysis and visualizations, and streamlined collaboration between clients and project stakeholders using a shared visual language. This talk focuses on two dimensions of change that may result from the rapid evolution of text-to-graphic AI, including (1) faster iterations and exploration of design options and (2) the advancement of methods that result in more inclusive and responsive design. In the classroom, students are just beginning to acknowledge the existence of text-to-graphic AI, which allows them to experiment with text-based design options that allow them to quickly visualize and explore a wide range of site program alternatives. Nevertheless, how do we manage the ethical and creative boundaries within an academic setting? In a research context, methods supporting rapid manipulation of both generated images and existing landscape photography represent advances that allow for greater collaboration surrounding landscape design decisions (Incorporating resilience strategies, protecting vernacular landscape elements that support a sense of place, or representing new design proposals that modify the landscape). These approaches allow stakeholders to gain remarkable advances in influencing the design process through shared visualization development. However, as with any emerging technology, practitioners, educators, and researchers need to respond to the challenges presented by text-to-graphic AI by developing and testing new design process models and public engagement techniques that can improve landscape decision-making and streamline collaboration.

Presenter: Aaron Thompson
Assistant Professor
Department of Horticulture and Landscape Architecture
Purdue University
625 Ag Mall Drive
West Lafayette, IN 47906

Title: Developing Guidelines for Extension’s Use of ChatGPT and Other Generative AI
Tools.

Description: A new technological era marked by the advent of Artificial Intelligence (AI), particularly generative AI and Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT has necessitated the need to navigate this domain with a compass of ethicality, safety, and effectiveness. Penn State’s experience developing guidelines for Extension’s use of
generative AI tools which will be shared and discussed.

Presenter: Michael Masiuk
Assistant Director – Horticulture Programs
Penn State Extension
342 Agricultural Administration Building
University Park, PA 16802

Panel: 30 minute panel with the above speakers, to allow time for Q&A and discussion.