France: Anti-Tech Radicals Storm the AI Village at the Agro-Food Industry Fair

France: Anti-Tech Radicals Storm the AI Village at the Agro-Food Industry Fair

About twenty activists occupied the AI Village at the CFIA (International Food Industry Suppliers Exhibition) in Rennes, France, to protest the dangers of artificial intelligence, particularly its impact on farmers. They highlighted concerns such as ecological costs, the loss of traditional knowledge, and increased dependence on large tech industries. Here is their statement:

REFUSE THE INVASION OF AI IN AGRICULTURE AND THE AGRO-FOOD INDUSTRY

AI is infiltrating more and more areas of society, but this advance is in no way the result of any citizen-driven demand. It is instead a forced march driven by the industries that develop and use it to boost their productivity. This is pure propaganda in favor of AI, without ever addressing the problems that this technology brings. Anti-Tech Resistance is here to denounce the lies spread by corporations and the events that promote this technology.

AI Will Never Make Industries More Ecological:

• First, because the environmental cost of AI far exceeds any benefits it might offer: to function, AI requires vast quantities of materials—countless sensors, thousands of kilometers of cables, and massive data centers to store an astronomical amount of data. These operations demand enormous amounts of electricity and water, drastically increasing our reliance on both energy and petroleum.
• Second, the productivity gains and cost savings from AI will quickly be offset by industries using them to ramp up production. This is known as the rebound effect: when costs are reduced, consumption increases. It's a pattern that's been seen throughout industrial history.

AI Never Improves the Lives of Those Who Use It:

Following the rebound effect, those who were supposed to benefit from reduced workloads due to more efficient technological tools have never seen this outcome. Instead, they work more efficiently, producing more during the same amount of time, but their working hours never decrease. Do we really need to remind you of the direction retirement age has taken?

AI Leads to the Disappearance of Skills That Build Human Communities' Richness and Resilience:

With AI, there’s no longer any need to know how to cultivate a field, knead bread, or observe cows—just glance at graphs on screens and press the right buttons. Professions lose their meaning: once artisans, proud of their skills and production, workers are now reduced to interchangeable cogs, maintaining the very machines that replace them. By imposing automation and standardization, there’s no longer room for personal experience, or for the human connection to the land, the material it produces, and the transformation process.

For Decades, We've Been Told That Technological Productivity Would Lead to Less Work, Better Lives, and Climate Solutions—Yet Nothing Has Changed:

For literally decades, industries and governments have promised that the rise of technological productivity would allow us to work less, live better, and tackle climate issues. Today, we can only observe that none of this has come to pass. So, who would want to be fooled once again by the lies peddled in the name of Artificial Intelligence?

We reject the development of AI, and we don’t seek its regulation. We fight for the total cessation of this destructive technology.