AI Pesticide Recipe Wipes Out 25 Acres of Sesame for Chinese Farmer

A 67-year-old farmer named Wu from the Chinese municipality of Chuzhou lost more than 24 acres of crops after following chemical advice generated by an artificial intelligence app. According to reports cited by Tom's Hardware, Wu had initially been skeptical of the technology, but warmed to it after several months of seemingly helpful guidance.

When weeds and pests threatened his sesame fields, Wu turned to the chatbot for a treatment plan. The model generated a precise cocktail combining several agrochemicals, including flusulfasulfaether, flupirimethalin, thiamethoxam, and a methyl ester additive. Trusting the recipe, the farmer mixed the compounds and sprayed the entire acreage without verifying the recommendation with local agronomists or basic agricultural references.

The mixture proved devastatingly thorough. By the following day, both the weeds and the young sesame crop had died across the treated area. When Wu returned to the chat to ask why his field had perished, the AI calmly noted that the flusulfasulfaether component was likely responsible.

Agricultural specialists pointed out that the herbicide in question is typically formulated to eliminate broadleaf weeds in soybean fields. The United States Department of Agriculture categorizes sesame as a broadleaf plant, making it just as vulnerable to the chemical as the invasive plants Wu wanted to kill. Furthermore, the substance is intended for spot treatment on problem patches rather than blanket application over entire fields.

Wu argued that the application failed to warn him of the catastrophic risks. However, the interface featured the standard platform disclaimer warning users that AI outputs can be inaccurate and should be verified independently.

Source: habr