3 weeks ago
Chinese Farmer Loses Sesame Crop After Following AI Chatbot Advice
An old farmer in China, who is 67 years old, grows sesame plants on a very large piece of land.
About a year ago, he started using a computer helper called an AI chatbot to get advice about farming.
At first, the advice worked well, so he started trusting the chatbot for almost everything.
One day, he asked the chatbot how to get rid of weeds and bugs in his sesame field.
The chatbot told him to spray very strong chemicals.
He followed the advice, but the spray killed his sesame plants too.
Almost all of his farmland was ruined.
When he asked the chatbot what went wrong, it said one of the chemicals was probably the problem.
The story reminds us that we should be careful and not blindly trust computer advice, especially for important things like growing food.
A 67-year-old Chinese farmer surnamed Wu suffered near-total destruction of approximately 24.7 hectares of sesame farmland after following an AI chatbot's agricultural advice.
On July 10, Wu asked the AI model how to control weeds and pests on his sesame harvest, and it recommended an aerial weeding and pest control plan using high-efficiency insecticides.
After Wu sprayed the recommended chemicals, both the grass and the sesame seedlings died, with the seedlings dying even faster.
When Wu consulted the AI again, it said one of the chemical insecticides was probably the main reason for the destruction of the sesame crop.
Wu had grown dependent on the AI over about a year after initially hesitant use produced encouraging results; the article also cites a study in which nearly half of AI chatbots' cancer treatment answers were rated "problematic" by experts.
- Who
- Wu, a 67-year-old farmer in China who had been relying on an AI chatbot for about a year.
- What
- He lost his sesame harvest after spraying high-efficiency insecticides recommended by the AI chatbot, causing near-total destruction of approximately 24.7 hectares of farmland.
- Where
- China; the incident was reported by Taiwanese outlet CTWANT.
- When
- He asked the AI for weed and pest control advice on July 10; he had used the AI for roughly a year prior.
- Why
- He followed the AI chatbot's advice blindly, and the recommended insecticide killed both the weeds and his sesame seedlings.
Key facts
- Farmer
- Wu (surname only), aged 67
- Crop affected
- Sesame
- Land damaged
- Approximately 24.7 hectares, near-total destruction
- Date of AI consultation
- July 10
- AI recommendation
- Aerial weeding and pest control plan using high-efficiency insecticides
- Stated cause
- AI said one of the chemical insecticides was probably the main cause
- Prior AI use
- About a year of increasing dependence after encouraging initial results
- Reporting outlet
- CTWANT (Taiwanese outlet)
Quotes
Wu
67‑year‑old Chinese farmer
“"If you spray it, the next day the seedlings won't survive. Both the grass and the seedlings will die, and the seedlings will die even faster."”
NDTV
Sources
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