Anhui farmer loses 150,000 yuan due to incorrect AI herbicide recommendation

A 67-year-old farmer in Chuzhou, Anhui Province, suffered an estimated loss of 150,000 yuan after following an incorrect pesticide recommendation generated by an AI software. The farmer used a drone to spray his 150-acre sesame field with a combination of chemicals suggested by the AI, which included sulfonylurea ether (fluorosulfamethyl), a herbicide specifically intended for soybean fields.

The following day, the sesame seedlings and weeds both withered and died. Agricultural technicians confirmed that the recommended herbicide is strictly for wide-leaf weeds in soybean fields and must be applied selectively; full-field application in a sesame field is guaranteed to kill the crops. When questioned, the AI eventually acknowledged that the specific herbicide was the cause of the damage.

Representatives from the AI software service stated that the tool does not possess an independent knowledge base and instead aggregates information from publicly available online sources. While the software included a small disclaimer stating that AI-generated content may be inaccurate, the farmer reportedly did not notice it. Experts warn that such incidents highlight the risks of "AI hallucinations" in high-stakes sectors like agriculture, medicine, and law, emphasizing that AI outputs should only be used as a reference and must be verified by professionals.