By Yutaka Une, farmer and philosopher
The development of artificial intelligence (AI) is advancing rapidly along a range of fronts, including igo and shogi software. Let us imagine what would happen if farming machines are equipped with the technology.
An unmanned tractor programmed with the latest AI suddenly stops before going into a rice field. It judged the rice field is too small and is not worth cultivating in terms of efficiency.
AI can’t understand that rural villages would be deteriorated unless farmlands – even those under unfavorable conditions – are cultivated. Love for the home region should be programmed into the robot in order to solve the problem.
Then, another problem would arise. An AI tractor refuses to cultivate, claiming a rice field is too large and it is too boring to be engaged in unskilled labor.
A farmer would be shocked to hear that. Having enjoyed being drawn into his own world as he saw weeds tilled into the soil, mice running away and the soil turning black as it is cultivated, he couldn’t believe the machine interpreting all of them simply as unskilled labor.
Perhaps the programmer of the robot expected the machine to take over unskilled labor from farmers, but the farmer wouldn’t feel that way. Then the tractor would be reprogrammed to obtain “a feeling of satisfaction from work” when it hears bird sounds, sees the countryside landscapes and feels the scent of soil in the wind.
But when the farmer sees the machine happily working in the fields, he would be filled with sadness, feeling as if he has handed over something very precious to a machine.
Research and development on robots replacing farm workers have been showing no signs of slowing down. I hope they will at least maintain the important part of farm work, that is, professional pride and respect in agriculture. AI should not become a mere tool for economic growth.
Unmanned tractors, declare yourselves as living creatures. I would want to get on the driver’s seat of such tractors, tell them all about my love for farming and make them my other selves or my children. But wait. That might mean they would no longer be “unmanned”!
<Profile> Born in Nagasaki Prefecture in 1950, Yutaka Une has advocated low-chemical farming methods since 1978 when he was working as an agricultural extension officer. He currently serves as the head of the Farm and Nature Research Center.