Since a sophisticated program in that case would be considerably harder to implement than a machine learning approach (what people generally mean when talking about AI): very likely AI

I’m pretty sure a version of this that just burns the weeds using lasers already exists. Having some contraption to rip out the weeds to me seems a lot more complicated and therefore expensive, with also more moving parts that likely need repair more often. Would ripping out the weeds offer that much more benefit over just burning them to justify that additional cost? I assume ripped out weeds would stay away longer, since the roots are removed or damaged, but I don’t really know the economic impact of weeds on the harvest. Do we have any farmers in the room who could share some insight on this?

They aren’t.