Gardening with AI?

 Although I am in my 80's, I have never shied away from technology..quite the opposite, I tend to embrace it, nose around it, try it out, break it and, if at all possible, see if it makes my life  easier, better or more interesting. And, this mindset has served me well, allowing me to change careers mid-life (55) & supported me until I finally did retire at 79.

And when I retired, I wanted a clean break with the past..having lived on or near the coast for 40-some years, I moved inland..I gave up a predilection for "dive bars"..(still love them, but there comes a time)..took up patio gardening, fully confident that "playing in the dirt" was about as low-tech as you can get...and then along came AI.

At first, I approached it as a novelty..how close have we come to the Star Trek computer? Does AI really have the ability to encompass all of the derived knowledge of mankind? Does it really make most technical/computer training & knowledge irrelevant?  The answer??? maybe.

The second question was, could it be helpful in real-world tasks, such as gardening? One day, out of frustration more than anything else, I asked Gemini (Google AI) about the "white stuff" on both of my recently acquired Pine trees; in 8-9 seconds, it correctly diagnosed the "white stuff" as pine scale, explained what pine scale was, it's origin, cause, characteristics & outlined a number of options for treating it. Further, it broke down the types of remedies available (both chemical & organic), by name, composition & price & a detailed treatment plan for remediation..I was sold.

Since then, I have used AI to answer questions, diagnose problems & research topics such as soil composition, cultivar characteristics, plant nutrition, & recommended practices for a variety of plants; additionally, I have sought information on multiple diverse subjects besides gardening, such as diagnosing ailments, evaluating healthcare choices, repairing my car, even to the extent of evaluating cat food & defining percieved &/or observed phenomena in nature, explaining scientific terms & developments...to the extent that I now use AI on a daily basis.

Do you use AI as part of your repertoire? I'd be curious to hear from others who have utilized this new technology while practicing one of the oldest, if not the oldest technology, cultivation. Post your comments below & share your experience with the rest of us.