Tech Giants and AI Tools 'Playing with the Food System', Warns Thinktank
Major technology companies, including Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Alibaba, are collaborating with industrial agriculture firms to use algorithms and artificial intelligence in ways that could undermine farmers' autonomy over what the world eats, according to a stark warning from leading food security experts. A report by the International Panel of Experts on Sustainable Food Systems (IPES-Food) highlights that this partnership is fostering a "top-down" approach to farming, where large corporations dictate crop selection, often prioritising the most productive and profitable varieties.
Risks to Local Crops and Global Food Security
Pat Mooney, a Canadian agriculture expert and contributor to the "Head in the Cloud" report, emphasised that these tech companies tend to focus narrowly on five key crops: corn, rice, wheat, soya beans, and potatoes. He illustrated this by noting, "Their advice might ignore local staples like teff in Ethiopia, instead pushing corn because it aligns with their expertise and ties to pesticides." This risks locking farmers into a globalised system, forcing them to abandon locally adapted crops cultivated for generations in favour of seeds, machinery, and chemical inputs from multinational corporations.
Mooney further warned that the globalised food system is already vulnerable to shocks such as the climate crisis or conflicts like the war in Ukraine. "The more global the system, the harder it is to guarantee functionality, and food security should be as local as possible," he stated. "Why would we make it even more dependent on Silicon Valley companies operating a broken system?"
How AI and Data Collection Influence Farming
Tech companies feed their algorithms and AI models with data gathered from farmers, satellite sensors, and drones, which monitor climate conditions and soil health. This information is then used to advise farmers on crop choices, such as suggesting seeds suited to local soil moisture. However, Mooney cautioned that these recommendations are likely biased towards crops that benefit the companies, requiring farmers to purchase associated seeds, equipment, and fertilisers.
The report notes that digital tools in agriculture are often portrayed as innovative, attracting policymakers and investors. Even if farmers hesitate to adopt this advice, governments might promote it as the future. The market for digital farming tools was valued at $30 billion last year and is projected to reach $84 billion by 2034, according to Fortune Business Insights. Additionally, the World Bank has financed $1.15 billion in loans for digital agriculture projects, and the EU has spent €200 million on related research.
Calls for Bottom-Up Approaches and Local Innovations
Lim Li Ching, co-chair of IPES-Food, argued that "farming by algorithm" is not what farmers desire, advocating instead for a bottom-up approach that prioritises their knowledge and needs. "Innovation must be grounded in people's realities, supporting them as guardians of agricultural biodiversity," she said. "We need innovations that empower farmers, are governed locally, and strengthen agroecological practices rather than entrenching industrial agriculture or monocultures."
Examples of such community-led initiatives exist worldwide. In Peru, families protect hundreds of potato varieties; in China, farmers conserve seeds; and in Tanzania, social media is used to share weather conditions and market prices. Mooney urged policymakers to fund research with local farmers and support these innovations, stressing that agroecology offers a more resilient path. "Food security needs to be local—don't lock yourself into a global system that's broken and irreparable," he concluded.
When approached for comment, Google, Microsoft, Amazon, IBM, and Alibaba did not respond immediately.
