Nobody ever really associates the resinous buds of a cannabis flower to the motherboard that operates artificial intelligence. Actually, some of the fondest associations with cannabis are with Rastafari culture, with dreadlocks, music and excessive eating. Nobody ever thought that we would be where we are at now: an almost automated, artificial intelligence-driven cannabis industry.

So here we are, in the age of self-driving cars and databases operated by robots — both of which are currently being used to fuel the success of the cannabis industry. The players at the Silicon Valley have been hard at work developing all kinds of technology to essentially automate the cannabis industry. And cannabis product manufacturers around the globe are beginning to implement this revolutionary technology.

AI for consumer personalization

The most interesting way that AI is being implemented in the cannabis industry is through personalized consumer sales. There is a gap in the world of cannabis — namely public education. At the root of it, a huge variety of cannabis products have become available to Americans after 80 years of cannabis prohibition, and many are overwhelmed with the variety of products. Basically, in the presence of so many options, it’s so hard to choose.

And that’s where AI steps in. Artificial intelligence is able to use existing data from studies and peer-reviewed journals to match strains and products to a customer’s specific medical needs. This means that true, direct marketing can take place from within the cannabis industry. Customers can be marketed isolated cannabinoids, edibles, strains and tinctures.

Intelligent growing

There was no way that AI technology designers were going to leave out the most important aspect of the cannabis industry: cultivation. While indoor growing has drastically increased the level of control cultivators have over their crop, there’s still an awful lot of room for human error and variation between plants or strains. 

Automated growing technology lets cultivators reach exacting standards, even remotely. These self-operated grow boxes can monitor everything, from irrigation to nutrient feeding all the way down to measuring precise cannabinoid content by the hour! 

There’s no telling how far this technology could take us. For starters, growers could create a kind of uniformity in their garden, ensuring consistency in cannabinoid yield and potency.

New age cannabis delivery

There’s something cozy about being delivered cannabis by a sweet friendly person on a bicycle. But that too is a thing of the past — way back in the past. While everybody is watching self-driving Google cars deliver pizzas on YouTube, there are self-driving cars delivering cannabis.

However, self-driving cars aren’t the only new addition to cannabis delivery. Companies are also beginning to use AI to streamline the transport of cannabis around the country. One company in particular, Eaze, operates out of California. They provide an application to connect dispensaries with delivery drivers. Plus, they use their data to make forecasts about supply and demand, then sell that data back to retailers so they can adjust their stock and inventory.

AI for regulation

There’s one final place where AI has a role to play in the cannabis industry: regulation. Cannabis retailers and product manufacturers spend a lot of time and money ensuring that they are up to date and compliant with constantly shifting and changing regulations. Naturally, a robot that does that task is probably in high demand.

MJ Freeway is an AI assistant born in a cultivation facility in Colorado. This company offers technological, agricultural tracking for cultivators to help them manage their licenses and keep up with compliance. MJ Freeway is essentially a seed to sale tracking device that helps businesses make sure they are compliant every step of the way.

OK - so we’ve obviously come a long way since nobody wanted to invest in cannabis because it was risky and the future was uncertain. Things are pretty much certain now: cannabis is here to stay and there’s a big slice for AI in that pie. Needless to say, those who are developing AI technology to assist cannabis cultivators and businesses stand to have a lot of success, especially if these technologies can streamline everything cannabis.