Keep the expert in the loop

“Where is this all heading?” That was the tagline for the fourth edition of the Digitalisering Event, held in Bleiswijk, the Netherlands. AI specialist Serge de Beer was invited to demonstrate what is already possible with artificial intelligence. The afternoon proved highly interactive, with workshops that introduced more than 130 growers, consultants, researchers and technology partners to topics such as vibe coding.

“Once you get started, it becomes addictive,” warned Robert Solleveld of Glastuinbouw Nederland (Dutch Greenhouse Horticulture) in his opening remarks. Several organizations involved in digitalization were also invited to present their work. The Digitalisering Event is an initiative of Delphy Improvement Centre, Glastuinbouw Nederland, Kas als Energiebron and Wageningen University & Research.

According to Robert, the target audience for this event differs somewhat from that of other events the industry organization typically runs, often together with partners. The terminology also stands out, he noted. Instead of discussing minimum pipe temperatures, Tuesday’s program in Bleiswijk centered on chatbots and agents, AI tools capable of operating more independently, carrying out tasks rather than simply responding to questions.

© Thijmen Tiersma | FloralDaily.comSerge de Beer and Robert Solleveld

Expert in the loop
Serge’s goal for the day was to show attendees that AI is more than just a chatbot. When asked who in the room already worked with AI, many hands went up. Far fewer were familiar with agents. These can be used for analysis, for building things, and for automating processes, and Serge is clearly an advocate. He works with AI around the clock, both developing tools and exploring what is possible.

Skeptics in the audience were not overlooked. Data security was also addressed. Serge advised against relying blindly on AI, stressing the importance of always keeping “a human in the loop”, or better yet, “an expert in the loop,” particularly for specialized areas such as energy or crop management in horticulture.

At the end of his presentation, Serge encouraged the audience to start by using AI to build tools. He also advised making AI’s output quality measurable, which would allow AI systems to learn from themselves and improve over time.

Vibe coding
The afternoon continued with workshops, including one on vibe coding led by Serge. He asked participants which tool they would like to build, then demonstrated within half an hour what could be achieved, producing a cost price and energy tool.

The tool was built in just ten minutes. The AI impressed attendees with a range of charts, but the output also raised questions about the source of its data. KWIN, the handbook of quantitative information on Dutch greenhouse horticulture published by Wageningen University & Research, is not publicly available online.

After some further questioning, the AI tool, Claude, acknowledged as much. The data used to build the tool during the workshop had been generated based on publicly available information, including, according to its source list, energy updates published on this channel.

The vibe-coding workshop offered a clear picture in just half an hour of what is currently possible, and clearly encouraged participants to experiment on their own. Serge’s final piece of advice: keep it small. A well-crafted prompt helps. Where prompting was once considered a highly specialized skill, as little as two years ago, it has since become accessible to many.

Asking for too much in a single prompt tends to produce too much in return. AI, it turns out, has a tendency to generate far more than requested. Building a combined cost price and energy tool, for instance, proved too complex to complete within half an hour. Still, participants who got a taste of it on Tuesday may well find themselves “hooked”, just as Robert had warned.