Séminaire général du LISIS- Maaz Gardezi – 04/03/2024

Le séminaire général du LISIS aura lieu le 4 mars 2024. Maaz Gardezi, assistant professor du département de sociologie du Virginia Tech présentera ses recherches en cours sur la digitalisation de l’agriculture et en particulier sur la co-conception d’outils numériques pour l’agriculture, aux Etats-Unis et au Pakistan.

Exploring Responsible Innovation and Agricultural Digitization: Case Studies from the United States and Remote Mountain Communities in Pakistan

Abstract: Responsible innovation is a helpful framework for digitization of agriculture. For benefits and scale to be realized for public interest, it is imperative to cultivate trust among a range of actors and organizations across the food system value chain. This process requires developing transparent pathways for converting raw data into actionable insights and addressing the social implications of these technologies, a task that involves farmers, technology providers, and policymakers navigating complex and often competing policy landscapes. Moreover, innovators and policymakers need to collaborate across various scales, acknowledging that scales of intervention are interdependent. This presentation presents methods and preliminary results for co-designing and critiquing innovative smart farming tools, including artificial intelligence-based decision support systems and sensor-driven performance-based incentives designed to govern the environment and promote sustainable farming practices in the U.S. and in remote mountain communities of Pakistan.

Dr. Maaz Gardezi, an assistant professor in the Department of Sociology at Virginia Tech, is dedicated to exploring the intersection of climate change and the social and political implications of emerging digital technologies in food and agriculture systems. His interdisciplinary research and teaching focus on building digital agricultural tools and socio-technical approaches for sustainable food and agricultural systems. Dr. Gardezi emphasizes the role of social science, computer science, and engineering in promoting innovation and democracy, from design to governance.