Farmer Who Trusted AI Loses 10 Hectares of Crops

In China, a 67-year-old farmer followed AI’s advice and lost nearly 10 hectares of sesame crops. Local outlet Ctwant reported.

A farmer living in Anhui province had been seeking AI advice for a year on planting, fertilizing and using pesticides. In July, he asked how to combat weeds and pests in his sesame field.

AI recommended using several preparations. Without consulting agronomists, the farmer treated the field with the recommended products. A day later, the sesame seedlings began drying out and dying, just like the weeds.

One expert determined that the products were mainly used against broadleaf weeds in soybean fields For this reason, they could not be applied in full to a sesame field.

The incident showed that following AI recommendations blindly without expert advice can be dangerous.

At the same time, AI is opening up major opportunities in science. Earlier, scientists at Stanford University using the Evo 2 model created new bacteriophages capable of destroying E. coli bacteria.

Designing genomes with AI could help develop new medicines in the future. However, alongside this technology, biosecurity and protection against biological threats remain pressing issues.