Posted on May, 12, 2025 at 07:27 pm
One of the main topics of discussion at the recent International Association of Operative Millers (IAOM) Conference and Expo was the role artificial intelligence (AI) is playing in the global flour milling industry. AI is defined as “the ability of computer systems to perform tasks that typically require human intelligence, such as learning, problem-solving, and decision-making.”
The fear, of course, that some millers and many others have regarding AI is that it will eliminate people from the workforce. But the bigger threat, several speakers at this year’s conference said, is that milling companies failing to incorporate AI into their business model will fall behind their competitors, which threatens the future of both the company and its employees.
As IAOM President Scott Martin said during his inauguration speech at the association’s annual banquet, “I heard a thought-provoking quote at the Flour City District meeting this past summer: AI won’t replace your job, but a person who knows how to use AI might.”
Experts at grain and feed industry events have echoed this message to companies in their sector, noting that the best outcome involves humans and AI working together to maximize performance and efficiency.
Although it will continue to evolve, AI already is aiding millers through intelligent monitoring, diagnostics, real-time evaluation, production optimization, raw material management and the use of powerful data tools. It helps enhance energy efficiency and predicts and prevents machine breakdowns, reducing downtime and maintenance costs.
Combining AI with machine learning will help milling companies make better use of their resources, become more profitable, and keep pace or even perhaps get a leg up on their competitors.
“By incorporating artificial intelligence-based algorithms, the complex operations of the milling process can be performed with excellent results,” Zeki Demirtasoglu, president of Turkey’s milling association, said in a World Grain article last year.
AI systems are not inexpensive, so it might be tempting to delay implementation, but the speakers at the IAOM conference said the long-term consequences of not embracing AI will far outweigh the short-term expense of incorporating it into their mills now.
Resistance to technology is nothing new. Millers were initially skeptical of steel roller mills, which more than any other piece of equipment defines the modern milling process.
In his paper entitled “How the Roller Mills Changed the Milling Industry,” Theodore Hazen wrote that when roller mills were introduced in the 19th century, “some millers were hesitant to replace their millstones with metal rollers, viewing the millstone as a symbol of their craft.”
While every new technological advancement should be well vetted before it is fully embraced, shunning innovation due to cost or simply not being comfortable with change can be fatal for milling companies or any other type of business. AI is here to stay, so the question isn’t whether to use it but how can it be used alongside humans to maximize a mill’s performance?
Source: World Grain