Artificial intelligence (AI) has been heralded as one of the most transformative technologies of the twenty first century, offering the potential to revolutionize industries across the globe. In the agrifood sector, AI holds promise, with applications that range from precision farming techniques that optimize water and fertilizer use to advanced supply chain management that reduces waste and improves efficiency. However, for all its potential, AI also presents challenges, particularly around inclusivity. As with many technological advances, those who stand to benefit the most are often the least able to access the necessary tools, infrastructure, and education. This digital divide risks leaving behind marginalized communities, particularly in rural areas where food insecurity is most acute.

Ensuring that AI and other digital innovations are accessible to all, especially those working at the grassroots level of agrifood systems, has become a global priority. Farmers, particularly smallholders, play a critical role in feeding the world, yet they are often excluded from the digital transformation that is reshaping agriculture. The potential of AI to enhance food security, boost rural livelihoods, and increase resilience to climate change is enormous—but only if it is used inclusively. Ethical considerations must be front and center in the push for digital agriculture, to ensure that AI does not perpetuate or exacerbate existing inequalities, but rather works to close the gap between the most and least privileged.

In light of these challenges, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) hosted the Science and Innovation Forum 2024 (SIF 2024) 14-18October at its headquarters in Rome. The event, themed “Inclusive Science and Innovation for Equitable Transformation of Agrifood Systems,” – brought together global experts, policymakers, and stakeholders from across the public and private sectors to explore the role of AI in transforming food systems. SIF 2024 aimed to address the critical question of how AI can be leveraged to ensure an equitable transformation of agrifood systems with a strong emphasis on inclusivity and ethical practices.

This year’s forum featured a dynamic array of sessions focused on AI and digital tools for agriculture entitled “Inclusive AI to drive agrifood systems transformation, with a particular emphasis on making these technologies accessible to rural and marginalized communities. The session served as a platform for exploring strategic partnerships that FAO can foster to implement its Global Innovation Model—a key element of its Science and Innovation Strategy. This model aimed to elevate, unlock, and scale digital innovations that can have a lasting impact on agrifood systems, ensuring that no one is left behind. Participants at SIF 2024 and this session particularly included a diverse mix of stakeholders, including UN agencies, government representatives, academics, private sector leaders, impact investors, and grassroots organizations. The session’s format has been designed to facilitate both high-level discussions and practical, solution-driven exchanges.  Highlights included four speakers namely Eric Salobir, President, Human Technology Foundation France; Greet Maenhout, Head of Unit Forests and Bioeconomy Unit, Joint Research Centre, European Commission; Daniela Braga, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Defined.ai and Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo, Co-Chair Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network. All these speakers and leaders in AI and the digital agriculture area offered insights on how AI can support sustainable food systems while promoting inclusivity.

Greet Maenhout, Head of the Forests and Bioeconomy Unit at the European Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC), highlighted how artificial intelligence (AI) is central to their mission of advancing data-driven insights for sustainable land use and agriculture. By combining AI with vast Earth observation datasets, the JRC has developed tools to support EU policymakers in areas like crop diversification for climate resilience, predicting agricultural yields in data-scarce regions, and enforcing sustainable practices in global trade. Key initiatives include creating high-resolution crop diversity maps for Europe, enhancing yield predictions in North Africa with the FAO, and supporting deforestation-free cocoa production in Central Africa through monitoring forest degradation. These applications demonstrate the JRC’s proactive approach to using AI for long-term environmental sustainability, climate resilience, and global trade compliance.

Reflecting on the paradox AI presents to humanity, whereby as the technology advances, the risks of losing the human experience it aims to support increase; Eric Salobir, President of the Human Technology Foundation, noted that in today’s technocentric landscape, solutions often arise from a top-down “techno-solutionism,” where technologies are developed in isolated labs or corporate environments and then imposed globally without local adaptation. He cautioned that for technology to truly serve humanity, its development must be inclusive, involving diverse voices, especially those it’s designed to benefit, such as immigrants, indigenous communities, and people in low-access regions. Salobir emphasized the need for equitable access and locally adaptable tools that empower all people, rather than simply exporting systems built for wealthier nations. By enabling communities to tailor AI to their unique needs, he believes technology can remain a tool for human progress rather than a force driving disparity.

Tapping into inclusion, the session discussed also how to bring indigenous peoples, smallholder farmers, and people in developing countries into the technological ecosystem. Carol Zavaleta-Cortijo, co-Chair of the Indigenous Peoples Observatory Network, emphasized the value of integrating indigenous knowledge and perspectives from the ground up. Reflecting on her own journey from a physician in the Amazon to a researcher, Zavaleta-Cortijo highlighted the interconnectedness of health, environment, and culture in indigenous communities, where learning and adaptation are deeply embedded in daily life and passed down through generations. She noted, “For indigenous people, health, food, and nature are inseparable; our knowledge is built through adaptation and is always evolving.” She also pointed out the importance of trust and respect in engaging indigenous knowledge within AI and technology, advocating for approaches that preserve and protect cultural insights and agroecological practices, which are essential for resilience against global crises.

Joined through Hologram, Daniela Braga, Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Defined.AI, emphasized the need to elevate agriculture’s public attention it deserves, especially as AI is revolutionizing several industries but the agricultural sector continues to be overlooked. She argued that this industry is critical to human survival, facing unique challenges such as climate change, labor shortages, and limited resources. To meet future food demands, AI’s potential must be harnessed in a way that’s inclusive and globally distributed, tackling data gaps, infrastructure limitations, and gender inequality in rural areas. Summarizing her call for action, Braga said, “Agriculture may not be perceived as ‘sexy’, but it is critical. It’s time we change the narrative… AI for agriculture is not just about technology—it’s about global collaboration, fairness, and ensuring the benefits reach everyone, everywhere.”

Additionally, an AI-generated summary synthesized  the key takeaways from the talks, demonstrating the role of AI in managing and distilling complex information. The transcript from Zoom was routed to three large language models: ChatGPT, Gemini and Mistral with the following prompt: Summarize in 2 lines the key insights on how AI and digital technologies are transforming agrifood systems, with a focus on inclusivity, ethics, and partnerships. The answers from the large language models were then integrated into the panel discussion on stage.

The ethical use of AI was a recurring theme throughout SIF 2024, with discussions on how to ensure that digital technologies promote fairness, transparency, and equity. One of the core messages of this session was the importance of open access to digital public goods, such as data and software, which can empower rural communities and smallholder farmers to participate in digital transformation. FAO’s Global Innovation Model was key to these discussions, as it outlines a framework for nurturing innovation at every stage—from incubation to scaling—while prioritizing the needs of the most vulnerable.

In his closing remarks, FAO Director-General Dr. QU Dongyu reflected on the rapid rise of AI in agriculture, underscoring the need for a balanced approach that considers the complexity of data protection, digital integration, and collaboration across diverse communities. He emphasized that AI’s impact on agrifood systems requires thoughtful, inclusive governance, recognizing that advancements in technology must be understood by society at large and grounded in practical applications for real-world change.

The outcomes of SIF 2024 will lay the groundwork for ongoing collaborations and innovations, with participants tasked with reporting progress at the 2025 forum; FAO aims to catalyze the development of ethical AI solutions to drive real-world impact, particularly in food security, climate resilience, and rural development. As the world faces the twin challenges of climate change and food insecurity, digital innovation in agrifood systems has become crucial. SIF 2024 offered a timely opportunity to rethink the role of AI and digital tools in transforming food systems sustainably and inclusively, focusing on ethical AI, open access, and strategic partnerships to ensure digital innovation becomes a force for good, shaping a future where no one is left behind.