As I write this column, I am already well past the due date and Rhea is breathing down my neck to get it done. In my defense, I am a procrastinator. Because one of the things that most interested me in the swine industry was the willingness to seek out and adopt new technology, I decided to give technology a try to help me write this column. I had been hearing a lot about artificial intelligence (AI) and its growing ability to compose articles and even scientific publications. So, I went online and found an AI writer that offered a free trial. I simply told it that I wanted an article about swine veterinarians. The following is what it produced (basically unedited):

  This article discusses the importance of swine veterinarians and their roles in the swine industry. They are responsible for many aspects of on-farm food safety, animal welfare, and health management. Swine veterinarians are educated veterinary students who are trained in the fundamentals of swine medicine, epidemiology, food safety, and production. They meet with the producers to discuss health and production issues, as well as provide support for zoonoses and foodborne pathogens. As an associate veterinarian, they help improve herd health through the use of medication, education, and resistance to zoonoses. Swine veterinarians also help improve epidemiological skills by providing students with hands-on experience working with swine health. This helps them gain a better understanding of epidemiology and food safety in order to improve health production on farms. At Iowa State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, students have helped swine producers across the state by providing guidance on pork industry challenges related to animal welfare, public health, and food safety. They have also had a positive impact on improving their understanding of swine health epidemiology which can help them improve their overall production management systems.

  Swine veterinarians are involved in many aspects of swine health and welfare, from overseeing the health and safety of the animals to managing their welfare care programs at the farm level. Many Canadian swine veterinarians are working to improve animal health, farm food safety, safety, animal care, and welfare issues on-farm. They work with producers to develop protocols for monitoring, vaccination, disease prevention, and control programs that address specific welfare issues such as boars and growing pigs, as well as food and health management issues. Swine veterinarians also provide advice on humane handling of swine for transportation and slaughter in order to ensure the highest standards of animal welfare.

  Top swine industry veterinarians are typically international and have expertise in swine health and production. They have extensive experience with large-scale swine production, understanding the needs of pork producers, both in production and companion animals. Swine veterinarians provide health management advice, including training programs to help producers improve the health of their herd. They also offer management certification for executive pork program managers, as well as programs for producers to improve animal welfare, production efficiency, and risk management. In addition, they support industry initiatives to promote food safety, environmental stewardship, and public health awareness regarding the consumption of pork products.

  Swine veterinarians are dedicated to advancing the swine industry through their research and expertise. They often attend conferences or participate in research projects that are sponsored by different animal health companies. I have had the opportunity to attend a conference almost where respondents from throughout the swine industry observe different methods of swine production and infectious disease research. This experience has allowed me to increase my knowledge of the swine industry, learn about new work opportunities, and network with companies in the industry. Additionally, I was able to gain access to research information presented at these annual meetings, as well as gain valuable insight into current trends and topics discussed by industry leaders.

  Veterinarians, farm owners, and executive veterinarians are all involved in the swine veterinary profession. Veterinary school programs, such as the swine health management program, can help to prepare new graduates with the essential skills they need to become successful swine veterinarians. A survey of American Association of Swine Veterinarians (AASV) members found that most practice managers and employees believe that new veterinarians should be given a period of adjustment when beginning work. The surveyed AASV members also agreed that swine health management addresses essential skills for a veterinarian to have in order to be successful in a practice.

  Swine veterinarians are highly trained professionals who continue to advance their education and training. Many future veterinarians look for veterinary internship opportunities to gain hands-on experience in swine veterinary medicine. Early-career swine veterinarians must have a good foundation of knowledge in production medicine, animal welfare, and research. The AASV MentorVet program is designed to offer peer mentorship and coaching for new practitioners. Veterinary faculty at Iowa State University have partnered with the AASV to create the Swine Medicine Club in order to provide support and mental health coaching for students interested in swine production medicine. This type of paired mentorship is essential for new practitioners entering the industry, as they need guidance from experienced professionals who can answer questions, offer advice, and provide resources as they progress through their careers.

  Swine veterinarians are responsible for providing veterinary services to swine farms, which includes prudent antimicrobial use, biosecurity program design, disease surveillance, welfare code development, and preventive measures against foreign animal diseases. They must also be familiar with food safety issues related to pork production and the use of antimicrobial resistance. The AASV is an international organization that helps swine veterinarians stay informed on the latest developments in the field. The AASV meeting is held annually and provides a forum for discussing current issues related to swine health and welfare, as well as new developments in veterinary service delivery. Swine veterinarians have a responsibility to ensure that farm animals are properly cared for and that preventative measures are taken to avoid contamination or other food safety issues.

So, that was kind of a fun exercise and it is pretty interesting how AI gathered publicly-available information and pieced together a reasonably cogent article. Some would argue more cogent than many of mine! The technology is not perfect, as you can see. It is also a little scary. A recent news report highlighted a newly released AI program aimed at writing scientific literature and the potential for problematic outputs.¹ One example output was a scientific-appearing article that described the nutritional value of feeding broken glass to pigs.²

As you can see, the technology is almost close enough now to pass for an Executive Director’s editorial article. It already has the long-winded part down. I asked it for 500 words and it gave me over 1000. With a little more tweaking, I might be able to delegate this responsibility as well!

Harry Snelson, DVM
Executive Director

References

*1. Edwards B. New meta AI demo writes racist and inaccurate scientific literature, gets pulled. ars Technica. Published November 18, 2022. Accessed January 24, 2023. https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2022/11/after-controversy-meta-pulls-demo-of-ai-model-that-writes-scientific-papers

*2. @mrgreene1977. That’s my primary concern. (see images) I got it to spit out numerous different formats for “the benefits of eating crushed glass.” It hallucinated all kinds of positive statements, including study details, livestock trials, and chemical explanations:. November 17, 2022. Accessed January 24, 2023. https://twitter.com/mrgreene1977/status/1593278664161996801/photo/1

* Non-refereed references.