The digital revolution is reshaping agri-food and rural development. This topic examines how technologies, such as AI and digital platforms, are transforming advisory and educational services. Discussions will center on how these technologies affect decision-making, communication, and collaboration among stakeholders. It will also cover challenges related to ethics, data governance, misinformation, and the role of AI tools like ChatGPT in knowledge mobilization. Key issues to address under this topic include but are not limited to:

Digitalization, precision agriculture and rural development:

• How do advisors and agricultural stakeholders use digital technologies to enhance communication and decision-making in complex agricultural and rural development contexts?
• Digitalization and the rise of ‘informal advisors,’ particularly farmers who gain influence through social media networks
• Digitalization initiatives and corresponding insights from producers and employees while avoiding dependencies on technology providers. Case studies of how advisory service providers adapt to and implement digital transformation in their services.
• Digitalization for augmentation (replacing human labor), or automation (integrating human and machine collaboration)
• Relevant tools and platforms for peer-to-peer learning
• Sustainability of digital initiatives for education and advisory services
• Roles of advisory and educational services in the management and governance of data. Emerging advisory and business models related to agricultural data, along with initiatives to equip teachers and advisors to help farmers with safe and effective data management
• Ethical and legal considerations (e.g., cybersecurity, responsible use) that support the development of new regulations and standards, as well as the facilitation of digital technology adoption

Digitalization, trusted advice and agri-food, climate-change and rural misinformation: 

• Advisors and the fight against fake news, misinformation, and negative and/or toxic online behavior
• Relevant digital tools/approaches to help empower or create dependencies for agricultural and rural communities, especially for gaining new skills and knowledge
• Evidence of successful individual/community/public initiatives to include remote and northern communities?

AI and knowledge mobilization:

• Perception of the use of LLM advisory by advisory and educational professionals in agriculture and rural development
• Relevant capacities and mindsets to effectively and responsibly use LLM tools
• Influence of these tools influence trust in agricultural advice, creativity, and innovation among stakeholders
• Strategies to apply these tools to support the co-creation of knowledge integrating scientific, contextual and Indigenous contexts.