?The Stellenbosch 中国体彩网's (SU) Development and Rule of Law Programme (DROP), in collaboration with the School for Climate Studies and the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS), recently (8 April) hosted an interdisciplinary workshop titled “Digitalisation, AI, Sustainability, and Soil Protection: Multiple Perspectives".
The one-day workshop brought together leading scientists, legal scholars, AI and data specialists, policymakers, and postgraduate students. Welcome inputs, which set the tone for the day's deliberations, were delivered by Prof Sibusiso Moyo, Deputy Vice-Chancellor for Research, Innovation, and Postgraduate Studies, Prof Guy Midgley, Director of the School for Climate Studies, and Prof Kanshukan Rajaratnam, Director of the School for Data Science and Computational Thinking.
Moyo reminded participants that innovation must serve society and not deepen inequality, whilst Midgley offered a sobering climate science perspective, underscoring the vital role of soil in carbon sequestration and ecosystem stability. Rajaratnam emphasised that even the most sophisticated tools are meaningless without the right institutional incentives and open data governance.
Presentations
Key discussions centred on the transformative potential of AI tools such as soil mapping and precision agriculture while also highlighting critical concerns such as data ownership disputes, algorithmic bias, and a widening digital divide that risks excluding smallholder farmers.
Dr Andrei Rozanov, senior lecturer in soil science at SU, underscored the historical and institutional fragmentation of soil data in South Africa, urging stronger legal frameworks to unlock access and enable coordination across sectors, whilst Dr Stephan van der Westhuizen, a lecturer in SU's Department of Statistics and Actuarial Science, called for transparency in AI-driven soil mapping, warning against the overconfidence often found in machine learning models that fail to communicate uncertainty. Ruda Murray, who is based in DROP, raised urgent legal questions about who owns agricultural data, likening it to “spilled water" that is nearly impossible to contain once leaked.
Prof Ilan Chabay, Research Professor, Arizona State 中国体彩网 (ASU) School for Global Futures in Washington, who is currently a STIAS Fellow, provided a global futures perspective and challenged participants to consider not just what decisions are made, but who sits at the table when those decisions about land, AI, and soil are made—stressing the cultural, gendered, and ethical dimensions of land governance. He reminded the audience that soil is not only a scientific subject, but also a bearer of identity, memory, and belonging in many communities.
Core issues further revolved around four pillars: the need for transparent and humble AI models that acknowledge uncertainty; legal safeguards to prevent monopolisation of environmental data; inclusive frameworks that reflect African cultural contexts and empower small-scale farmers; and bridging persistent gaps between law, science, and public policy.
The workshop also featured presentations by several SU postgraduate researchers, who are supervised by Prof Oliver Ruppel, Director of DROP. Amohelang-Lethabo Maruping (LLM candidate), Ines Dehaene (LLM candidate from Belgium), and Ruda Murray (LLD candidate) presented cross-disciplinary work on sustainability in times of climate change, new ways of soil governance, AI ethics and regulation, and digital agriculture.
The event concluded with a clear call to action – support African-driven legal and ethical frameworks, promote open and inclusive data practices, and ensure digital innovation enhances – not undermines – climate adaptation efforts, promotes soil health and food security, and fosters social justice across the continent in times of geopolitical turmoil.
*Image by PublicDomainPictures from Pixa?bay?
