Recommendations for ethical and responsible use of artificial intelligence in digital agriculture

Abstract

Artificial intelligence (AI) applications are an integral and emerging component of digital agriculture. AI can help ensure sustainable production in agriculture by enhancing agricultural operations and decision-making. Recommendations about soil condition and pesticides or automatic devices for milking and apple picking are examples of AI applications in digital agriculture. Although AI offers many benefits in farming, AI systems may raise ethical issues and risks that should be assessed and proactively managed. Poor design and configuration of intelligent systems may impose harm and unintended consequences on digital agriculture. Invasion of farmers' privacy, damaging animal welfare due to robotic technologies, and lack of accountability for issues resulting from the use of AI tools are only some examples of ethical challenges in digital agriculture. This paper examines the ethical challenges of the use of AI in agriculture in six categories including fairness, transparency, accountability, sustainability, privacy, and robustness. This study further provides recommendations for agriculture technology providers (ATPs) and policymakers on how to proactively mitigate ethical issues that may arise from the use of AI in farming. These recommendations cover a wide range of ethical considerations, such as addressing farmers' privacy concerns, ensuring reliable AI performance, enhancing sustainability in AI systems, and reducing AI bias.