AI Research
Artificial intelligence put to work on extension
Glacier FarmMedia – AI extension services have arrived in Canada.
Farm Credit Canada and Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) have unveiled a generative artificial intelligence tool that will deliver “timely advice (that) producers can use immediately.”
The tool is called Root.
FCC says it will help farmers adopt best practices, right from their phones.
“Root is more than a technology solution, it’s part of a broader effort to bring back something Canadian agriculture has lost: accessible, trusted and timely insight,” Justine Hendricks, FCC president and chief executive, said in a release.
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“With the decline of local advisory networks (extension services), too many farmers and ranchers have had to rely on fragmented information or go at it alone. By partnering with RDAR, we’re helping producers access the kind of expertise that once came from decades of community-based knowledge sharing.”
Many agronomists, livestock specialists and extension experts would take issue with the idea that farmers no longer have trusted and timely advice.
Nonetheless, it is correct to say that government cutbacks have reduced extension services. There are fewer people on the Prairies that provide unbiased and relevant information to producers.
There was a time, maybe 30 to 40 years ago, when provincial government reps were the clear-cut leaders of ag extension across Canada.
Provincial agriculture departments still employ specialists in regional offices, who are responsible for delivering the latest research and best information to livestock and crop producers.
Shrinking provincial extension services
But the number of provincial extension specialists has shrunk.
In some provinces, they have almost disappeared.
In October 2020, the Western Producer reported that the Alberta government had laid off about 135 Alberta Agriculture employees who worked in primary agriculture. That included research and extension staff.
“People always forget that Alberta Agriculture had offices across the province and there was a lot of co-operative work that was done,” said Ross McKenzie, a retired department employee.
“That capacity will be lost. You’ll see (applied research) groups … kind of pick up and carry on, but you won’t have that co-ordinated effort across the province that we had.”
Root might fill some of the void that exists in agricultural extension.
It was actually launched earlier this year and has already “supported” more than 2,900 conversations about farm management, including troubleshooting for problems with machinery, FCC said.
AI gathers research
Being an AI tool, Root can gather information and learn from the latest agricultural results from research done in Canada and elsewhere.
“We are especially keen on incorporating RDAR (research) materials into Root … making our materials accessible to producers and ranchers,” said Mark Redmond, RDAR’s chief executive officer.
“We are pleased to formalize our partnership with FCC; in the past, we have worked on initiatives concurrently, but now we will collaborate more closely.”
For years, commodity groups for grains, oilseeds, pulses and livestock have used podcasts, webinars, YouTube videos, Twitter (X) and other technologies to share the best information with their members.
The new AI tool could be helpful for producers, but some extension experts still believe personal relationships matter.
Tracy Herbert, the knowledge mobilization and communication director with the Beef Cattle Research Council, said those modern tools can be effective, but personable relationships are critical when it comes to adoption of new agricultural practices.
“Without someone you have a trusted relationship with, who can provide that customized guidance… it’s far less likely that you’ll get to the last step in that process (adoption).”
The global research landscape is undergoing a seismic shift. Universities worldwide are deploying NVIDIA’s H200 Tensor Core GPUs to power next-generation AI Factories, SuperPODs, and sovereign cloud platforms. This isn’t a theoretical pivot; it’s a real-time transformation redefining what’s possible in scientific discovery, medicine, climate analysis, and advanced education delivery.
The H200 is the most powerful GPU currently available to academia, delivering the performance required to train foundational models, run real-time inference at scale, and enable collaborative AI research across institutions. And with NVIDIA’s Blackwell-based B200 on the horizon, universities investing in H200 infrastructure today are setting themselves up to seamlessly adopt future architectures tomorrow.
Universities powering the AI revolution
This pivotal shift isn’t a future promise but a present reality. Forward-thinking institutions worldwide are already integrating the H200 into their research ecosystems.
Institutions leading the charge include:
- Oregon State University and Georgia Tech in the US, deploying DGX H200 and HGX clusters.
- Taiwan’s NYCU and University of Tokyo, pushing high-performance computing boundaries with DGX and GH200-powered systems.
- Seoul National University, gaining access to a GPU network of over 4,000 H200 units.
- Eindhoven University of Technology in the Netherlands, preparing to adopt DGX B200 infrastructure.
In Taiwan, national programs like NCHC are also investing in HGX H200 supercomputing capacity, making cutting-edge AI infrastructure accessible to researchers at scale.
Closer to home, La Trobe University is the first in Australia to deploy NVIDIA DGX H200 systems. This investment underpins the creation of ACAMI — the Australian Centre for Artificial Intelligence in Medical Innovation — a world-first initiative focused on AI-powered immunotherapies, med-tech, and cancer vaccine development.
It’s a leap that’s not only bolstering research output and commercial partnerships but also positioning La Trobe as a national leader in AI education and responsible deployment.
Universities like La Trobe are establishing themselves as part of a growing global network of AI research precincts, from Princeton’s open generative AI initiative to Denmark’s national AI supercomputer, Gefion. The question for others is no longer “if”, but “how fast?”
Redefining the campus: How H200 AI infrastructure transforms every discipline
The H200 isn’t just for computer science. Its power is unlocking breakthroughs across:
- Climate science: hyper-accurate modelling for mitigation and prediction
- Medical research: from genomics to diagnostics to drug discovery
- Engineering and material sciences: AI-optimised simulations at massive scale
- Law and digital ethics: advancing policy frameworks for responsible AI use
- Indigenous language preservation: advanced linguistic analysis and voice synthesis
- Adaptive education: AI-driven, personalised learning pathways
- Economic modelling: dynamic forecasts and decision support
- Civic AI: real-time, data-informed public service improvements
AI infrastructure is now central to the entire university mission — from discovery and education to innovation and societal impact.
Positioning Australia in the global AI race
La Trobe’s deployment is more than a research milestone — it supports the national imperative to build sovereign AI capability. Australian companies like Sharon AI and ResetData are also deploying sovereign H200 superclusters, now accessible to universities via cloud or direct partnerships.
Universities that move early unlock more than infrastructure. They strengthen research impact, gain eligibility for key AI grants, and help shape Australia’s leadership on the global AI stage.
NEXTDC indispensable role: The foundation for AI innovation
Behind many of these deployments is NEXTDC, Australia’s data centre leader and enabler of sovereign, scalable, and sustainable AI infrastructure.
NEXTDC is already:
- Hosting Sharon AI’s H200 supercluster in Melbourne in a high-density, DGX-certified, liquid-cooled facility
- Delivering ultra-low latency connectivity via the AXON fabric — essential for orchestrating federated learning, distributed training, and multi-institutional research
- Offering rack-ready infrastructure for up to 600kW+, with liquid and immersion cooling on the roadmap
- Enabling cross-border collaboration with facilities across every Australian capital and proximity to international subsea cable landings
The Cost of inaction: why delay is not an option in the AI race
The global AI race is accelerating fast, and for university leaders, the risk of falling behind is real and immediate. Hesitation in deploying advanced AI infrastructure could lead to lasting disadvantages across five critical areas:
- Grant competitiveness: Top-tier research funding increasingly requires access to state-of-the-art AI compute platforms.
- Research rankings: Leading publication output and global standing rely on infrastructure that enables high-throughput, data-intensive AI research.
- Talent attraction: Students want practical experience with cutting-edge tools. Institutions that can’t provide this will struggle to attract top talent.
- Faculty recruitment: The best AI researchers will favour universities with robust infrastructure that supports their work.
- Innovation and commercialisation: Without high-performance GPUs, universities risk slowing their ability to generate start-ups, patents, and economic returns.
Global counterparts are already deploying H100/H200 infrastructure and launching sovereign AI programs. The infrastructure gap is widening fast.
Now is the time to act—lead, don’t lag.
The universities that invest today won’t just stay competitive. They’ll define the future of AI research and discovery.
NEXTDC
What this means for your institution
For Chancellors, Deans, CTOs and CDOs, the message is clear: the global AI race is accelerating. Delay means risking:
- Lower grant competitiveness
- Declining global research rankings
- Talent loss among students and faculty
- Missed innovation and commercialisation opportunities
The infrastructure gap is widening — and it won’t wait.
Ready to lead?
The universities that act now will shape the future. Whether it’s training trillion-parameter LLMs, powering breakthrough medical research, or leading sovereign AI initiatives, H200-grade infrastructure is the foundation.
NEXTDC is here to help you build it.
NEXTDC
Want to explore the full article?
Read the complete breakdown of the H200-powered university revolution and how NEXTDC is enabling it: Click here.
Avalara has announced the launch of Avi for Tax Research, a generative AI assistant embedded within Avalara Tax Research (ATR), aimed at supporting tax and trade professionals with immediate, reliable responses to complex tax law queries.
Avi for Tax Research draws on Avalara’s extensive library of tax content to provide users with rapid, comprehensive answers regarding the tax status of products, audit risk, and precise sales tax rates for specific addresses.
Capabilities outlined
The AI assistant offers several features to advance the workflow of tax and trade professionals.
Among its core capabilities, Avi for Tax Research allows users to instantly verify the taxability of products and services through straightforward queries. The tool delivers responses referencing Avalara’s comprehensive tax database, aiming to ensure both speed and reliability in answering enquiries.
Additional support includes access to up-to-date official guidance to help mitigate audit risks and reinforce defensible tax positions. By providing real-time insights, professionals can proactively adapt to changes in tax regulations without needing to perform extensive manual research.
For businesses operating across multiple locations, Avi for Tax Research enables the generation of precise, rooftop-level sales tax rates tailored to individual street addresses, which can improve compliance accuracy to the level of local jurisdiction requirements.
Designed for ease of use
The assistant is built with an intuitive conversational interface intended to be accessible to professionals across departments, including those lacking a formal tax background.
According to Avalara, this functionality should help improve operational efficiency and collaboration by reducing the skills barrier usually associated with tax research.
Avalara’s EVP and Chief Technology Officer, Danny Fields, described the new capabilities in the context of broader industry trends.
“The tax compliance industry is at the dawn of unprecedented innovation driven by rapid advancements in AI,” said Danny Fields, EVP and Chief Technology Officer of Avalara. “Avalara’s technology mission is to equip customers with reliable, intuitive tools that simplify their work and accelerate business outcomes.”
The company attributes Avi’s capabilities to its two decades of tax and compliance experience, which inform the AI’s underlying content and context-specific decision making. By making use of Avalara’s metadata, the solution is intended to shorten the time spent on manual analysis, offering instant and trusted answers to user questions and potentially allowing compliance teams to allocate more time to business priorities.
Deployment and access
The tool is available immediately to existing ATR customers without additional setup.
New customers have the opportunity to explore Avi for Tax Research through a free trial, which Avalara states is designed to reduce manual effort and deliver actionable information for tax research. Customers can use the AI assistant to submit tax compliance research questions and receive instant responses tailored to their requirements.
Avalara delivers technology aimed at supporting over 43,000 business and government customers across more than 75 countries, providing tax compliance solutions that integrate with leading eCommerce, ERP, and billing systems.
The release of Avi for Tax Research follows continued developments in AI applications for business compliance functions, reflecting the increasing demand for automation and accuracy in global tax and trade environments.
AI Research
Tenable Research Warns of Critical AI Tool Vulnerability That Requires Immediate Attention [CVE-2025-49596]
GUEST RESEARCH: Tenable Research has identified a critical remote code execution vulnerability (CVE-2025-49596) in Anthropic’s widely adopted MCP Inspector, an open-source tool crucial for AI development. With a CVSS score of 9.4, this flaw leverages default, insecure configurations, leaving organisations exposed by design. MCP Inspector is a popular tool with over 38,000 weekly downloads on npmjs and more than 4,000 stars on GitHub.
Exploitation is alarmingly simple. A visit to a malicious website can fully compromise a workstation, requiring no further user interaction. Attackers can gain persistent access, steal sensitive data, including credentials and intellectual property, and enable lateral movement or deploy malware.
“Immediate action is non-negotiable”, says Rémy Marot, Staff Research Engineer at Tenable. “Security teams and developers should upgrade MCP Inspector to version 0.14.1 or later. This update enforces authentication, binds services to localhost, and restricts trusted origins, closing critical attack vectors. Prioritise robust security policies before deploying AI tools to mitigate these inherent risks.”
For in-depth information about this research, please refer to the detailed blog post published by Tenable’s Research Team.
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