Proposal for a Crop Protection Information System for Rural Farmers in Tanzania

Crop protection information, such as how to control emergent and outbreak crop diseases and pests, as well as the latest research, regulations, and quality control measures for pesticides and fertilizers, is important to farmers. Rural smallholder farmers in Tanzania have traditionally relied on government agricultural officers who visit them in their villages to provide this crop protection information. However, these officers are few and cannot reach all the farmers on time. This means that farmers fail to make critical farming decisions on time, which can lead to low crop productivity. In this study, we aim to provide farmers with reliable and instant crop protection information by developing a system based on the Short Message Service (SMS) and the Web. This system automatically replies to farmers’ requests for the latest crop protection information in the Swahili language through SMS on a mobile phone or a Web system. The findings reveal that our proposed system can provide farmers with crop protection information at lower cost (500 times cheaper) than the existing Tigo Kilimo system. Furthermore, our proposed system’s deep learning model is effective in understanding and processing Swahili natural language SMS queries for crop protection information with an accuracy of 96.43%. This crop protection information will help farmers make better critical farming decisions on time and improve crop productivity.

On the possibility of organizing communication for e-Navigation in the coastal zone using radio-technical posts of the vessel traffic control system

The concept of e-Navigation is to unify activities for the collection, integration, exchange, presentation and analysis of information on vessels and in coastal services through electronic technologies to improve the navigation safety, and the quality and efficiency of the relevant services.The generalized analysis of the obtained data is used to determine the appropriate actions in the prevailing conditions, to improve the process of the vessel’s transition from berth to berth (in ports of departure and destination) and the corresponding services that ensure the safety of navigation, environmental protection, information exchange between intelligent transport systems.The basis for fulfilling the assigned tasks are three basic components of e-Navigation: vessel systems; coastal and satellite systems; communication infrastructure. The purpose of the paper is the possibility of applying broadband radio communications for unmanned navigation in the coastal zone. The research object is the analysis of broadband communication systems; the subject is the assumed range of the WiMAX radio communication zone. EMC Planner 1.1_170328 is used to simulate the anticipated WiMAX radio zone.

Multiculturalism of Virtual Communities in the Field of Information Security in the Postmodern World

In the article, the emergence and development of virtual communities are analyzed in the context of the priority of national security. The types and features of virtual communities have been considered, and the potential possibilities of the negative impact of the development of virtual communities on nation-states and their security are determined. The purpose of the study is to determine the characteristics of virtual communities as subjects of contemporary communication culture, to emphasize the range of potential threats and dangers that virtual communities embody in the field of information security of society and the state. The methodology embodies a multi-vector scientific analysis of the information security phenomenon in general and the phenomenon of virtual communities in particular. The variety of gradations of virtual communities is emphasized by the classification method. The implication method comprehends the interdetermination of communicative culture, information culture and postmodern existence of the virtual world. Information security is considered a component of the culture of national security of the state and a global issue of information protection, information space, and information sovereignty of any country.

Socially Responsible AI Algorithms: Issues, Purposes, and Challenges

In the current era, people and society have grown increasingly reliant on artificial intelligence (AI) technologies. AI has the potential to drive us towards a future in which all of humanity flourishes. It also comes with substantial risks for oppression and calamity. Discussions about whether we should (re)trust AI have repeatedly emerged in recent years and in many quarters, including industry, academia, healthcare, services, and so on. Technologists and AI researchers have a responsibility to develop trustworthy AI systems. They have responded with great effort to design more responsible AI algorithms. However, existing technical solutions are narrow in scope and have been primarily directed towards algorithms for scoring or classification tasks, with an emphasis on fairness and unwanted bias. To build long-lasting trust between AI and human beings, we argue that the key is to think beyond algorithmic fairness and connect major aspects of AI that potentially cause AI’s indifferent behavior. In this survey, we provide a systematic framework of Socially Responsible AI Algorithms that aims to examine the subjects of AI indifference and the need for socially responsible AI algorithms, define the objectives, and introduce the means by which we may achieve these objectives. We further discuss how to leverage this framework to improve societal well-being through protection, information, and prevention/mitigation. This article appears in the special track on AI & Society.

Hierarchical Information Fault Diagnosis Method for Power System Based on Fireworks Algorithm

Power system fault diagnosis is an important means to ensure the safe and stable operation of power system. According to the specific situation of China’s current power grid automation level, a hierarchical fault diagnosis method based on switch trip signal, protection information and fault recording information is proposed. This method can not only diagnose simple fault and complex fault, but also judge fault type and phase, and complete fault location, which provides reliable guarantee for operators to quickly remove fault and resume operation. The diagnosis method based on this principle has good application effect in simulation test.