Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2019
From Daniel Lemire's Blog
Science and Technology links (January 12th, 2019)
You can buy a 512GB memory card for $140 from Amazon. We have been told for decades to avoid saturated fats, the kind found in meat, cheese and butter. After an extensive review, Grasgruber et al. conclude: Our results do not…
From insideHPC
Job of the Week: Research Engineer at Spectral Sciences
Spectral Sciences in Massachusetts is seeking a Research Engineer in our Job of the Week. "The successful candidate will work within a small team of SSI scientists and engineers on a variety of projects in physical modeling and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Speech to Dialog
Been lately experimenting with the resolution of dialog with AI style analysis. Still surprising that what can be done today is still primitive, what are the key aspects of dialog understanding and resolution in context? What…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Google Pushing Marketing Digital Assistant Design
In Think With Google: A Marketing Revolution.
Digital assistants are the next marketing revolution. Here’s how to be ready
By Matt Mierzejewski December 2018 Emerging Technology, Data & Measurement, Experience & Design
Digital…
From Schneier on Security
Friday Squid Blogging: New Giant Squid Video
This is a fantastic video of a young giant squid named Heck swimming around Toyama Bay near Tokyo. As usual, you can also use this squid post to talk about the security stories in the news that I haven't covered. Read my blog…
From BLOG@CACM
More Replicas of Historical Calculating Machines Found
Documenting the discovery of several previously unknown replicas of historical computing devices made by Roberto A. Guatelli.
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cracking the Brand Growth Code
Subconscious brand preference, more than a millennial obsession with direct delivery. Gillette take note.
Podcast and Transcript from Knowledge@Wharton
MARKETING
Cracking the Code on Brand Growth
The battle for business growth does…
From insideHPC
Video: Lustre Roadmap & Community Update
In this video from DDN booth at SC18, Peter Jones from DDN presents: Lustre Roadmap & Community Update. With their new Whamcloud Business Unit, DDN has already brought key Lustre developers on board to accelerate their high performance…
From insideHPC
Video: Ramping up for Exascale at the National Labs
In this video from the Exascale Computing Project, Dave Montoya from LANL describes the continuous software integration effort at DOE facilities where exascale computers will be located sometime in the next 3-4 years. "A key
…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Predicting Results in Investigation of Crimes and Legal Cases
A risk analysis plugged into known processes that include outcome data and costs. Might also be used for predicting outcome of legal cases in general.
U.K. Police Force Is Dropping Tricky Cases on Advice of an Algorithm
NewBy…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Smart Carts Again
We looked at many applications of Smart Carts. Looks like a good design. Installation and Cost, Maintenance were the big issues.
Caper's smart shopping cart uses AI to skip checkout lines
The smart cart is now available at two…
From The Eponymous Pickle
A Look at AI Powered Law Firms
Perhaps obvious, but an interesting example of how AI can enhance the business of law:
Artificial intelligence qualification helps law firm implement AI-powered business systems
International law firm Taylor Wessing wants to train…
From Schneier on Security
Using a Fake Hand to Defeat Hand-Vein Biometrics
Nice work: One attraction of a vein based system over, say, a more traditional fingerprint system is that it may be typically harder for an attacker to learn how a user's veins are positioned under their skin, rather than lifting…
From The Eponymous Pickle
AI Inspires Unilever
Considerable article on the topic that takes it beyond food:
How AI helped Unilever discover 'breakfast for dessert' by Omar Oakes in CampaignLive
The FCMG giant's global head of insight has co-written a book on AI in marketing…
From Putting People First
[Book] Left to Our Own Devices
![[Book] Left to Our Own Devices](/system/assets/0000/1953/030209_Vanderbeeken_Mark_250.small_square.jpg?1476779420&1260281963)
Left to Our Own Devices: Outsmarting Smart Technology to Reclaim Our Relationships, Health, and Focus Margaret E. Morris MIT Press, 2018 192 pages Unexpected ways that individuals adapt technology to reclaim what matters to them…
From insideHPC
Video: AMD Steps up renewed focus on High Performance Computing
In this video from CES 2019, AMD President and CEO Dr. Lisa Su describes how the new AMD EPYC processors are changing the game for High Performance Computing. "This is an incredible time to be in technology as the industry pushes…
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Lecture As Performance Art
Mark Guzdial posted a link to an article about him (The social justice case for computing: transforming tools for some into a language for all – you should read it) that had a picture of him teaching. His comment on TwitterShuchi…
From The Computing Community Consortium Blog
Nominations Sought for New CCC Council Members
The Computing Community Consortium (CCC) is charged with catalyzing and empowering the U.S. computing research community to articulate and advance major research directions for the field. Established in 2006 through a cooperative…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Will Digital Assistants Live up to Hype?
Some good questions posed. Most interesting, will there ultimately be a single 'language' for their use? A set of reasonable standards of what we expect of them? Like in an automobile? Or will they ultimately all be using…
From insideHPC
Video: Research Computing Storage at the Francis Crick Institute
In this video from DDN User Group at SC18, Steve Hindmarsh from the Crick Institute presents: Research Computing Storage at the Francis Crick Institute. "The Francis Crick Institute is dedicated to understanding the fundamental…
From insideHPC
Call for Papers: Distributed & Heterogeneous Programming in C/C++ Event in Boston
The DHPCC++19 conference has issued its Call for Papers. Held in conjunction with the IWOCL event, the Distributed & Heterogeneous Programming in C/C++ event takes place May 13, 2019 in Boston. "This will be the 3rd DHPCC++ event…
From insideHPC
Podcast: Improving Parallel Applications with the TAU tool
In the podcast, Mike Bernhardt from ECP catches up with Sameer Shende to learn how the Performance Research Lab at the University of Oregon is helping to pave the way to Exascale. "Developers of parallel computing applications…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Game Theory and Human/Robot Goals
Good way to systematically think about the problem, but we never found it to be a way to solve the problem. I like the approach outlined here:
How Game Theory Can Bring Humans, Robots Closer Together
University of Sussex (U.K…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Creating Virtual Cities from DashCam Images
Thinking further applications of this. Why not use other aggregated imagery, like Street View?
Nvidia’s new A.I. creates entire virtual cities by watching dash cam videos
From the Grand Theft Auto franchise to the plethora of
An…
From The Eponymous Pickle
First Commercial Quantum Computing
Lots of claims in this space. With large companies, Governments indicating their development We dabbled very early on, providing problem areas of our interest. IBM's involvement and investment does make a claim to seriousness…
From The Eponymous Pickle
AI Conversations
I selectively read or listen to these. Often interesting. Since I have been involved in the history of AI, its always intriguing to hear the opinion of its continued evolution, especially hints at another possible down turn…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Limiting the Right to be Forgotten
Been intrigued by the EU 'right to be forgotten' laws a means to say you can have information about you scrubbed from the web. Increasing your privacy at least in theory. Seems only to be relevant only to big players
EU…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Interpreting and Securely Using Machine Learning
Good piece here, which discusses the nature of Trust, Causality, Transferability, Informativeness,
....Yes to that, but ultimately is how you can link, and use the results as part of a current or proposed business process. Try…
From Schneier on Security
Security Vulnerabilities in Cell Phone Systems
Good essay on the inherent vulnerabilities in the cell phone standards and the market barriers to fixing them. So far, industry and policymakers have largely dragged their feet when it comes to blocking cell-site simulators and…
From Universal Acceptance Steering Group
Internationalized Domain Names and Universal Acceptance: Spreading the Word in China
This article originally appeared on ICANN.org Last month, I participated in the first of a planned series of roadshows in China that are focused on Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) including Email Address Internationalization…