Forestry professionals across government, academia and private industry are deeply concerned about artificial intelligence making critical land management decisions without human oversight, according to new research from Northern Arizona University.
Researchers conducted 20 in-depth interviews with forestry professionals and found universal agreement that AI should never replace human expertise or make autonomous decisions about forest management.
“They are particularly concerned about the ‘black box’ problem where they can’t understand AI’s decision-making process, creating serious accountability issues,” said Alark Saxena, associate professor of human dimensions of forestry at NAU’s School of Forestry.
The professionals expressed specific concerns about training AI systems using poor-quality or biased data from agencies, and then relying on flawed outputs for critical land management decisions, such as prescribed burn locations or clear-cutting permissions.
However, current labour shortages are creating pressure for AI adoption as overworked and burned-out forestry workers seek assistance with monotonous tasks, including summarising information, lesson planning and completing routine paperwork.
Workers also recognised AI’s potential for complex data analysis, particularly with light detection and ranging technology, provided it functions as an assistant rather than a replacement for experienced professional judgement.
The research team interviewed six government employees, three private timber industry foresters, five academic professionals and six students across the Southwest United States.
“We noticed a great deal of discussion about the potential of AI in forestry, but very little research on how the professionals on the ground actually feel about it,” Saxena said.
The study authors are calling for cross-sector collaboration to create consistent AI policies and conduct broader research across the United States and globally, capturing wider professional perspectives on AI implementation in forestry.
