Embracing Disconcertment

Abstract

The digitisation of agriculture is underway—with advocates highlighting its potential to improve resource efficiency and reduce environmental impacts of agriculture, and critics suggesting that emerging technology will exacerbate inequalities in the food system. Drawing on five years of collaboration within an interdisciplinary sustainable agriculture project, I critically consider the limitations of on-farm research as a strategy for rendering ‘real-world’ farm practice into data for digital tools to guide farmer decision-making. In engagements with data science, anthropologists must use our seat at the table to practice what Helen Verran (2001) called ‘generative critique’ in support of responsible research and innovation. Our training in engaged yet critical participant observation, and our experience building long-term relationships within communities, makes anthropologists particularly well-suited for this role.