Epistemological Friction: Embodied Expertise and the ‘Last Mile’ of Agricultural Automation in the US Tree‐Fruit Industry

ABSTRACT

Autonomous and AI‐driven agricultural technology is often framed as a panacea for labour dependency. While proponents envision autonomous technologies seamlessly optimising farming, this rationalised model misunderstands the reality of on‐farm integration. Based on an ethnographic and comparative study of 16 operations in the US West Coast Tree Fruit Industry (California and Washington), this article examines the ‘last mile’ of agricultural automation. The study reveals that integrating AI and robotics is a contested negotiation shaped by epistemological friction—the tension between the algorithmic logic of developers and the embodied, site‐specific expertise of farmers and farm workers. Rather than resulting in seamless labour replacement, we find that agricultural automation reconfigures work, creating an invisible reliance on ‘human middleware’ to navigate the biological recalcitrance of the orchard. Demonstrating how regional contexts and participatory implementation shape technological trajectories, this study extends Labour Process Theory. We argue for the need for a relational approach recognising the essential cognitive labour of farmers and farm workers that is demanded by digital agriculture. Ultimately, this study shows the ‘farm of the future’ depends on reconciling rigid systems with the situated expertise of the farm workforce.