# Responsible AI in Farming: A Multi-Criteria Framework for Sustainable Technology Design
## 2 Farmers' Autonomy within a Complex Socio-Technological-Ecological Environment
### STES Approach  
Many researchers [29; 30; 31] pointed out the dangers of technology implementation in ecological environments without having a systematic understanding of the associated human-environment interactions and a conceptual framework that governs technology introduction [32]. The farming ecosystem is a complex web of relationships between people, technologies, and the environment. Implementing AI can alter these relationships, leading to unwanted consequences that can directly and indirectly affect farmers' decision-making processes and, ultimately, autonomy. The bridging of a socio-ecological system (SES) approach with a socio-technological (STS) approach creates a novel playground that investigates the intermediary role of technology within a socio-technological-environment system (STES) nexus. By inspecting the complex interactions in this multi-dimensional environment, an integrated technology (assessment) approach can account for technology-related dynamics to avoid simplistic, reductionist, or deterministic explanations [29]. As an STES approach recognizes the complexity of these dynamics (uncertainty, feedback cycles, emergent phenomena, etc. ), scientific progress in this area can lead to novel frameworks and approaches to designing, integrating, and maintaining technological developments and fostering sustainable and resilient management of environmental and technological systems [31]. As many unjust algorithmic developments (bias, discrimination, harm, etc.) revolve around purely technical solutions [32], the STES approach tries to tackle this challenge by putting the human and his or her actions in the center to pave the way for human-centered technology requirements as shown in Figure 1. By understanding that technology and its goals are implemented in a dynamic setting of societal, personal, and environmental needs, it assesses the dynamic of the system components from the start. It is important to understand the different political consequences of framing the goals of AI \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l} \hline \hline
**Lack of...** & **Potential Effects on Autonomy** \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Technological Knowledge} & Trusting technological decisions too much, strong dependence on providers for support, limited cost-effectiveness of technology [17; 18; 19] \\ \cline{2-3}  & Lower economic flexibility and production effectiveness [18] \\ \hline \multirow{3}{*}{Data Ownership and Privacy} & Increase in vulnerability against cyber threats [20], lowered trust in automated decisions, lack of technology adoption [21; 22], increased dependence on data providers [23] \\ \cline{2-3}  & Data and Algorithmic Transparency & Understanding and utilizing AI decisions, lack of trust [24] \\ \cline{2-3}  & Limits interoperability of devices and accuracy of ML models [25; 26], thereby decreasing trust, explainability, and economic exploitability \\ \cline{2-3} Security & Lowers trust, increases vulnerability to cyberattacks, limits economic exploitation [20; 27] \\ \cline{2-3} Customization & Low interoperability with farm infrastructure and use case adaptation [18; 21] \\ \cline{2-3} Reliability and Maintainability & Increase in economic variability and dependency on providers, loss of trust [28] \\ \cline{2-3}  & Limits technology adoption, lowers trust in technology [21; 26], loss of localized knowledge and trust [19; 21] \\ \hline \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 1: Critical factors affecting farmers’ autonomy. implementation, to acknowledge a certain lack of understanding of all perspectives, and to be aware of one's personal viewpoint. In doing so, the development and implementation of responsible AI systems must explore how intentional and unintentional technical mediation may result in ambiguous outcomes and feedback that displace or relocate but do not remove negative consequences. Based on this evaluation, it identifies strategic interventions and ways of changing relationships such that these create well-being for humans and non-humans alike [29].