AI can help bridge the digital divide while tackling food insecurity

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) IBM and Microsoft, in conjunction with the Pontifical Academy for Life, reaffirmed their commitment towards developing forms of Artificial Intelligence (AI) that are inclusive and promote sustainable ways to achieve food and nutrition security.

The group is considering ways through which AI can contribute to achieving the goal of feeding an estimated global population of nearly 10 billion by 2050, while safeguarding natural resources and addressing challenges such as climate change and the impacts of shocks including COVID-19.

“The implementation of clearly Western technologies in food production and food processing significantly affects the food cultures of the populations of the Earth. We must feed everyone, but not everyone must necessarily eat the same things,” said Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, President of the Pontifical Academy for Life. 

The protection of biological diversity (human, plant, animal diversity) must be the focus of our attention and must guide the whole process, from the design phases (ethics by design) to the way in which these are proposed and spread in different social and cultural contexts,” he added.

“Transforming our food systems requires innovative solutions to ensure food security and nutrition for all,” said FAO Director-General QU Dongyu. 

“At FAO, together with the development of AI tools, we work towards establishing the International Platform for Digital Food and Agriculture – an inclusive multi-stakeholder forum for identifying and discussing the potential benefits and risks of digitalization of the food and agricultural sectors. For this aspect we really appreciate and expect colleagues from the AI and digital giants to offer us assistance, cooperation and engagement to help the (FAO) member countries and the farmers,” he added.

“As society has grappled with an alarming public health emergency, uses of technology in response to COVID-19 have only underscored why the Rome Call for AI Ethics and its underlying principles are so critical to humanity’s future,” said John E. Kelly, III, IBM’s Executive Vice President. 

“Only by putting people, their interests and their values at the center of our thinking about the future of technology can we all emerge stronger from global challenges such as the pandemic and food security.”

“At Microsoft, we believe technology can help unlock solutions for some of the world’s biggest challenges,” said Microsoft President Brad Smith.

“Technologies such as AI and Machine Learning tools will be particularly helpful as we work to address worldwide hunger and food insecurity issues, especially in a world grappling with climate change. These tools can forecast issues and respond with critical resources that help prevent future famines and save lives.”

Artificial Intelligence has an important role to play in transforming food systems and helping to address food and nutrition insecurity. In the agricultural sectors, it can do so in several ways, including optimizing or even carrying out some human activities, such as planting and harvesting, thus increasing productivity, improving working conditions – by reducing the amount of time and toil – and using natural resources more efficiently, including through better knowledge management and planning.

In particular, as e-agriculture technology advances rapidly, AI in farming is emerging in three major areas: agricultural robotics, soil and crop monitoring, and predictive analytics.

Leave a Reply