The overlooked AI revolution in rural China

For many Chinese farmers, AI is no longer a futuristic idea but a daily tool

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Villagers in Foling Village Feng'an Town Zijin County Heyuan City Guangdong Province learn to use ai chatbot under the guidance of village cadres_.jpg

Villagers in Guangdong province learn to use an AI chatbot under the guidance of village cadres.

Vivian Toh is the chief editor of London-based TechTechChina, a Chinese tech news startup.

While Washington obsesses over GPU supplies and model benchmarks, a quiet AI revolution is unfolding in places few analysts bother to look, China's countryside. In provinces like Jilin, Yunnan and Hubei, rice farmers are turning to AI not to code apps or write essays but to save their crops from flooding and disease. China is showing the world a different roadmap of AI's path forward, one that isn't dominated by billion-parameter models or trillion-dollar market caps.

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