More than six years after residents of Flint, Michigan, suffered widespread lead poisoning from their drinking water, hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent to improve water quality and bolster the city's economy. But residents still report a type of community PTSD, waiting in long grocery store lines to stock up on bottled water and filters. Media reports Wednesday said former governor Rick Snyder has been charged with neglect of duty for his role in the crisis. Snyder maintains his innocence, but he told Congress in 2016, "Local, state and federal officials--we all failed the families of Flint." One tool that emerged from the crisis is a form of artificial intelligence that could prevent similar problems in other cities where lead poisoning is a serious concern.

The algorithm is saving about $10 million as part of an effort to replace the city's water infrastructure. To catch you up: In 2014, Flint began getting water from Flint River rather than the Detroit water system. Mistreatment of the new water supply, combined with old lead pipes, created contaminated water for residents. Solving the problem: Records that could be used to figure out which houses might be affected by corroded old pipes were missing or incomplete. So the city turned to AI.