Farmer Trusts AI and Loses Entire Crop of Valuable Crop
A 70-year-old farmer from Chuzhou trusted AI and lost his entire sesame crop. The neural network advised treating the fields with chemicals that destroyed the seedlings. Experts explained that the product is intended for soybeans, while sesame is vulnerable. The farmer is outraged by the lack of warnings.
An elderly farmer from Chuzhou, China, lost his entire sesame crop after trusting artificial intelligence recommendations. The 70-year-old man had been consulting a neural network for several months on plant protection issues. One day, he asked the digital assistant for a recipe to treat forty hectares of land sown with sesame. The AI provided instructions, recommending mixing powerful chemical agents, including flupyrimetralin, a herbicide, thiamethoxazine, and methyl salt. The farmer followed the instructions exactly, without double-checking with specialists. The day after spraying, it turned out that the chemical mixture had destroyed not only weeds but also all sesame seedlings. Experts explained that the product is intended for controlling broadleaf weeds in soybean fields, and sesame is also a broadleaf plant, making it vulnerable. The farmer is outraged that the AI did not warn about the risks. The incident highlights that technology cannot yet fully replace professional knowledge.