Bipartisan lawmakers eye AI safeguards for US agriculture industry

AI expert Marva Bailer tells Fox News Digital how the open availability of artificial intelligence can have negative effects and talks about potential federal legislation to control it. FIRST ON FOX: Lawmakers are eyeing safeguards for integrating artificial intelligence (AI) technology into the U.S.'s agricultural sector. A new bill introduced by Rep. Randy Feenstra, R-Iowa, and backed by both sides of the aisle aims to enforce standards for AI programs connected to everyday Americans' food, fuel and other necessities. Feenstra, whose district is heavily rural, told Fox News Digital that AI is becoming increasingly relevant in the farming industry but that existing guardrails on new technology aren't keeping up with that boom, he suggested. Rep. Randy Feenstra is leading a bill to add safeguards to AI technology used in the agricultural sector (Rod Lamkey/Pool/Getty Images) "From precision agriculture to veterinary software, the latest developments in agricultural technology – including artificial intelligence – have the power to lower input costs for farmers, protect the health of livestock and poultry, and make farming operations more efficient," Feenstra said. "We must be equally active in certifying that these new technologies, products and processes work as they should and uphold the highest industry standards."