Nicholas T. Logler, a Ph.D candidate at the UW Information School and Rian Wanstreet, a Ph.D candidate at the University of Washington recently expressed the necessity to include agriculture in the Tech Policy debate.

They urge the audience to look more into data, environmental, impact and security with the next generation of farming tech possibly being exposed to high risk with marginal reward. They said, The proliferation of smartphones and wired devices has transformed how we think about privacy and safety in our personal lives, introducing new threats and new challenges to existing ways of doing things. Similarly, introducing automation and digital technology to farming (and their accompanying business models) exposes farmers to new vulnerabilities — from unrepairable equipment to cybersecurity concerns.”