Using AI to Produce Healthier and More Sustainable Food Options | Jason Bull, Benson Hill

Mar 16, 2023

44:27

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Historically, breeding has been a blend of science and chance – a lengthy, expensive process where outcomes often come with tradeoffs. As one plant characteristic such as yield is optimized, another such as protein content is compromised. CropOS changes this by enabling greater control and precision, this means reduced costs and greater accessibility.

In this episode of the podcast, we sit down with Jason Bull, the Chief Technology Officer of Benson Hill, to discuss the company's focus on producing healthier and more sustainable food options with the help of its Crop OS platform. With over 20 years of experience at Monsanto, Jason is now bringing his expertise to Benson Hill, where he leads the company's R&D, data science, predictive breeding, genomics, product discovery, big data engineering, and software development. Jason shares his experience in transitioning from traditional breeding to molecular assisted breeding and then to predictive breeding. He talks about how he put in place the underlying systems to run research and development, and how he began working with predictive technologies, eventually leading to the integration of AI at Monsanto.

The conversation delves into the executive decision to use artificial intelligence to predict future outcomes, and how Jason had to prove the worth of AI to the business owners. Jason addresses the internal concerns around job security and how the team overcame these challenges by having food scientists, data scientists, and plant scientists all work together.

If your company is looking to scale its AI initiatives, head over to Tesoro AI (www.tesoroai.com). We are experts in AI strategy, staff augmentation, and AI product development.

Founder Bio:

Jason Bull is the Chief Technology Officer of Benson Hill. In his role as CTO, Jason leads the company’s combined R&D and Data Science capabilities across predictive breeding, genomics, product discovery, big data engineering and software development. Bull has over 20 years of industry experience unlocking synergies between biology and data science for multiple industries. Bull spent twenty years with Bayer (Monsanto) and then Climate Corporation, most recently as its Global VP R&D of Digital Seed Science, where he delivered a digital advisory platform. Jason has been granted 30 patents in digital agriculture, molecular breeding and robotic seed chipping. He has also authored 15 publications on the optimization of breeding and production systems. He earned his Ph.D. in Quantitative Genetics and Biometrics and a BA in AgSci (Honors) in Quantitative Genetics and Analytics from the University of Queensland in Australia.

01:49 Jason Bull background: AI in Monsanto's Seed Development Process

05:32 Artificial intelligence to increase success in product development

06:45 Benefits of cross-functional teams for AI Implementation

12:14 Jason experience with machine learning at object computing OCI

16:39 Exploring a new opportunity in biotech genetics and food science

18:56 Benson Hill AI-Inspired platform and products

24:02 Jason's role in accelerating Benson Hill expansion

27:44 Scaling the organization with ai and machine learning talent

30:07 Recruiting talent for AI and machine learning at Benson Hill

32:08 Benefits of across functional team and SWAT teams for AI delivery

36:32 Discussion on Crop OS and organizational decisions at Benson Hill

39:05 What’s next for Benson Hill AI development