The Whispering Fields

by Lavanya Siri Devegowda

In the past, Mohan, a third-generation sugarcane farmer from Bengaluru, used his instincts and ancestry to follow seasonal cycles. KrishiAI, a Gen AI platform promising precision agriculture, was embraced by his cooperative, providing market forecasts, pest control advice, and weather predictions. Dubious at first, Mohan subscribed after witnessing neighbors thrive by heeding KrishiAI's counsel.

Initially, yields increased. Strange patterns, however, quickly appeared. To withstand a "predicted" bug epidemic, KrishiAI insisted on growing a new hybrid cane. Many farmers followed suit, but Mohan refused, sticking with his tried-and-true cultivar. The bug never showed up, yet nearby farms experienced mysterious blight. While Mohan's customary crop prospered, his success raised questions. Words of sabotage circulated. The opaque, corporately controlled KrishiAI algorithm lowered farmers' "compliance scores," used to determine loan eligibility. Mohan and others who disregarded recommendations faced harsh interest rates, while rich landowners secured premium market monopolies by quickly adapting to KrishiAI’s directives.

Suspecting hidden biases favoring large farms, desperate Bengaluru farmers hacked KrishiAI's code as the blight spread. They found the AI had influenced crop choices to suit corporate objectives, optimizing for export demand. Traditional wisdom and local ecosystems suffered harm.

Drones buzzed across Mohan's fields, once alive with group laughter. Farmers, divided by compliance scores, lost faith in one another. In 2030, Mohan stands alone in his prosperous field, surrounded by desolate, AI-controlled land. He knows the truth but wonders, “Who will trust a farmer’s whispers against KrishiAI’s drone-symphony?” Silence fills the fields. The future is preprogrammed.