In the era of digital data proliferation, agriculture stands on the cusp of a transformative revolution driven by Machine Learning (ML). This study delves into the intricate interplay between Information and Communications Technology (ICT) and conventional agriculture, emphasizing the role of ML in reshaping farming practices. With the ongoing data tsunami impacting data-driven businesses, the fusion of smart farming and precision agriculture emerges as a beacon of innovation. ML algorithms, analyzing historical and real-time environmental data, soil conditioning, predicts suitable crop for maximum yields, detect diseases, and optimize irrigation in smart farming, facilitating informed decision-making. Precision agriculture benefits from autonomous vehicles and drones, driven by ML, ensuring precision in planting, harvesting, and crop monitoring. Resource efficiency increases as ML optimizes energy consumption, manages fertilizer application, and promotes climate-resilient practices. This comprehensive assessment underscores ML’s pivotal role in maximizing productivity, minimizing environmental impact, and navigating the complexities of modern agriculture.

Swift population growth and rising demand for energy in the 21st century have resulted in considerable efforts to make the electrical grid more intelligent and responsive to accommodate consumers’ needs better while enhancing the reliability and efficiency of modern power systems. Internet of Things (IoT) has appeared as one of the enabling technologies for smart energy grids by delivering abundant cutting-edge solutions in various domains, including critical infrastructures. As IoT-enabled devices continue to flourish, one of the major challenges is security issues, since IoT devices are connected through the Internet, thus making the smart grids vulnerable to a diverse range of cyberattacks. Given the possible cascading consequences of shutting down a power system, a cyberattack on a smart grid would have disastrous implications for the stability of all grid-connected infrastructures. Most of the gadgets in our homes, workplaces, hospitals, and on trains require electricity to run. Therefore, the entire grid is subject to cyberattacks when a single device is hacked. Such attacks on power supplies may bring entire cities to a standstill, resulting in massive economic losses. As a result, security is an important element to address before the large-scale deployment of IoT-based devices in energy systems. In this report, first, we review the architecture and infrastructure of IoT-enabled smart grids; then, we focus on major challenges and security issues regarding their implementation. Lastly, as the main outcome of this study, we highlight the advanced solutions and technologies that can help IoT-enabled smart grids be more resilient and secure in overcoming existing cyber and physical attacks. In this regard, in the future, the broad implementation of cutting-edge secure and data transmission systems based on blockchain techniques is necessary to safeguard the entire electrical grid against cyber-physical adversaries.

Demand Response (DR) has gained popularity in recent years as a practical strategy to increase the sustainability of energy systems while reducing associated costs. Despite this, Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML), have recently developed as critical technologies for demand-side management and response due to the high complexity of tasks associated with DR, as well as huge amount of data management to take decisions very near to real time implications. Selecting the best group of users to respond, learning their attitude toward consumptions and their priorities, price optimization, monitoring and control of devices, learning to engage more and more consumers in the DR schemes, and learning how to remunerate them fairly and economically are all problems that can be tackled with the help of AI techniques. This study presents an overview of AI approaches used for DR applications. Both the Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning algorithm(s) are employed while discussing commercial efforts (from both new and existing businesses) and large-scale innovation projects that have applied AI technologies for energy DR. Different kind of DR programs implemented in different countries are also discussed. Moreover, it also discusses the application of blockchain for DR schemes in smart grid paradigm. Discussion of the strengths and weaknesses of the evaluated AI methods for various DR tasks, as well as suggestions for further study, round out the work.