A Mexican drug cartel is being accused of dropping as many as 33 bombs on the rural community of El Caracol this month. Video out of the small town shows residents looking up into the sky as an explosion can be heard. The drone attacks began Aug. 10, with 30 homemade bombs being dropped, and three more dropped the following day, according to the Minerva Bello Center for Victims of Violence. "We urge authorities at every level to urgently take the necessary actions to stop the aggression against the residents of El Caracol," the group said in a statement. The center further claims that residents say they first began seeing drone activity over the town in May of last year.

The impact of AI on smaller communities will depend on various factors such as the availability of resources, infrastructure, and the community's readiness to adopt new technologies. However, there are several potential positive and negative impacts that AI could have on smaller communities. Here are just a few. On the positive side, AI will allow for much improved access to healthcare. AI can help diagnose diseases more accurately and quickly, especially in areas where there is a shortage of healthcare professionals.

Drone Defence Services and the University of Nottingham will develop sensor technology to track aircraft. By monitoring all aircraft, Drone Defence aims to prevent drone misuse and enable drones to safely share the sky with other aircraft.

The project is being funded by the UK Government's Global Challenges Research Fund at Essex, which supports cutting-edge research that addresses the challenges faced by developing countries. Dr Javier Andreu-Perez, from Essex's Centre for Computational Intelligence, Smart Health Technologies Group, is working on the project with colleagues from the National Institute of Astrophysics, Optics and Electronics (INAOE) and the University Hospital of the Meritorious Autonomous University of Puebla (BUAP) in Mexico. Strokes are the third highest cause of death in Mexico and among the top causes of disability both in Mexico and the world. Whilst exact figures are not known, it is estimated there are about 200,000 new cases in Mexico per year. After an injury, the brain readjusts its connections and activity so that, despite being damaged, it can keep doing mostly the same functions.

"Land O'Lakes is one of the most important food suppliers in the U.S., and our nation's farmers and consumers rely on its ability to rapidly adapt to changing market forces through innovation," said Satya Nadella, CEO, Microsoft. "Through our partnership, we will apply the power of Azure and its AI capabilities to help Land O'Lakes solve some of the most pressing challenges facing the industry and bridge the divide between rural and urban communities." "As America's farmers continue to deliver the world's safest, most affordable food supply, they face an increasing number of obstacles that are beyond their control. The data-based, precision agriculture tools that we are building with Microsoft will provide the edge they need, but unreliable or nonexistent high-speed internet in rural areas keeps these tools out of reach for many. Through this alliance, we will work to address this need and help farmers remain profitable and sustainable," said Beth Ford, president and CEO of Land O'Lakes, Inc.

Mary L. Gray is a Senior Principal Researcher at Microsoft Research as well as an E.J. Safra Center for Ethics Fellow and Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society Faculty Affiliate at Harvard University. Mary also maintains a faculty position in the School of Informatics, Computing, and Engineering with affiliations in Anthropology and Gender Studies at Indiana University. Mary, an anthropologist and media scholar by training, focuses on how everyday uses of technologies transform people's lives. Mary is the author, with computer scientist Siddharth Suri, of Ghost Work: How to Stop Silicon Valley from Building a New Global Underclass published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt in 2019. It was named a Financial Times' Critic's Pick and awarded the McGannon Center for Communication Research Book Prize in 2019.

Taking the road less traveled is extremely difficult for self-driving cars. Autonomous vehicles rely on highly visible lane markings, as well as detailed 3D maps in order to navigate their environment safely. Which is why most of the major companies have eschewed testing on unmapped rural roads in favor of suburbs and cities. Researchers at MIT's Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) have developed a new system that allows self-driving cars to drive on roads they've never been on before without 3D maps. Called MapLite, the system combines simple GPS data that you'd find on Google Maps with a series of sensors that observe the road conditions. This allowed the team to autonomously drive on multiple unpaved country roads in Devens, Massachusetts, and reliably detect the road more than 100 feet in advance.