Kevin Scott, the chief technology officer for computer tech giant and FFA Gold sponsor Microsoft, grew up in tiny Gladys, Va. He recently wrote a book, “Reprogramming the American Dream,” that details his early life, the revolution that is unfolding in artificial intelligence and how agriculture could be one of the biggest beneficiaries.
NH: How did you go from a small town to a top executive position at Microsoft?
KS: In retrospect, it does seem a little unlikely. But one of the pieces of good luck I had was being born in 1972. When I was 11 or 12 years old, the personal computing revolution was happening, and my parents and I were able to save up enough to buy me a computer. Fairly early on, I taught myself how to program, figuring things out on my own. I followed that through my education and into my career, now at Microsoft.
NH: Did you take agriculture classes in school?
KS: Yes, in middle school. I remember it as a ton of fun. It wasn’t a farm that I grew up on, but we had a very big garden from which we harvested and preserved food for the whole year.
NH: In your book, you talk about artificial intelligence (AI) as the next big thing in technology. What exactly is it?
KS: AI is not just one thing. It’s a set of technology tools have been performed by people. In some cases, it might be tasks that people can’t do at all.
NH: How will it work in agriculture?
KS: There are many ways. Already, there’s this notion of precision agriculture, where relatively sophisticated and big farming operations have access to very powerful tools to tell when and where to do things. What I like is that AI is increasingly putting these technologies, and even more powerful ones, into the hands of smaller farming operations, even in the developing world. At Microsoft, we have this entire research endeavor called FarmBeats, built on the premise that we can use AI to help farmers increase yields and reduce environmental impacts.
NH: What advice do you have for tech-savvy agriculture students?
KS: Fully explore your imagination and make a difference in the world. I know from personal experience that when you put your mind to accomplishing something and you feel confident in using the tools available, you can do amazing things. You have a more powerful set of tools than you’ve ever had before.
