Prediction of the development of modern agriculture as a function of artificial intelligence and digitalization

The contemporary agricultural sector faces numerous challenges arising from climate change, the growing global demand for food, and the need for sustainable resource management. In such circumstances, digitalization and the application of artificial intelligence have become key instruments for modernizing and enhancing the competitiveness of the agricultural sector. The aim of this study was to examine the impact of the application of artificial intelligence in agriculture and digitalization in agriculture on agricultural development, on the basis of which a theoretical research model was developed. The research was conducted on a sample of 277 respondents, consisting of active and potential agricultural entrepreneurs from the territory of the Republic of Serbia. Data were collected using an anonymous online questionnaire in the form of a Google Form during the period from 1.09.2025. to 31.10.2025. Out of 369 distributed questionnaires, a response rate of approximately 75% was achieved. The research instrument was based on a five-point Likert scale. Data analysis included descriptive statistics of respondents' profiles, reliability analysis of the questionnaire scale Cronbach's α, and correlation and regression analysis of the defined independent predictors and the dependent variable. The results indicate that both the application of artificial intelligence and digitalization in agriculture have a statistically significant and positive effect on agricultural development. Digitalization in agriculture proved to be a stronger individual predictor, while the effect of artificial intelligence application was comparatively weaker. Model explains 81.20% of the variance in agricultural development R²=0.812036, whereby the proposed hypothesis was rejected.