Communications of the ACM
The blog archive provides access to past blog postings from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2021
From Computer Science Teacher - Thoughts and Information From Alfred Thompson
Looking Back on Computer Science Education in 2021
I’ve never felt less prepared to write a look back on CS education than I do today. I’ve been retired from most of the year and the world has been changed a bit because of COVID. I have noticed some things have clearly happened…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Brain Cells Learn Pong
Seems quite remarkable, if it is what I think it is, how far could be be extended, repeated? Is it ethical to use human brain cells for this?
ACM TECHNEWS
Human Induced Cells Grown in Petri Dish Learn to Play Pong Faster Than…From The Eponymous Pickle
MGM Trains with VR
Have seen similar things tried with VR in Retail environments a decade ago without much success. Is it enough to just be innovation in a clever way and fun way? Or is it just a way to attract potential employees?
ACM TECHNEWS…From Gödel's Lost Letter and P=NP
Make A Trillion Dollars
For every problem, there is one solution which is simple, neat, and wrong— H. L. Mencken 2019 announcement Lance Fortnow was a colleague of mine for a long time at Georgia Tech and is now the Dean of the College of Computing…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Cross Company AI
Very interesting, another example. Which leads us to the usual difficulty of adequately model different corporate goals.
Intelligence Across Company Borders
By Olga Fink, Torbjørn Netland, Stefan Feuerriegelc
Communications of…From The Eponymous Pickle
IEEE Spectrum Looks at LIkely Emergent Milestones
12 Exciting Engineering Milestones to Look for in 2022 An electric aircraft race, a new dark-matter detector, and a permanent Chinese space station await By Michael Koziol .... Only the first example is written out below.…
From The Eponymous Pickle
The Real-World Dilemma of Security and Privacy by Design
Security remains hard.
Technical Perspective: The Real-World Dilemma of Security and Privacy by Design By Ahmad-Reza Sadeghi Communications of the ACM, October 2021, Vol. 64 No. 10, Page 84 10.1145/3481040
The Roman historian…From The Eponymous Pickle
ShakeAlert Earthquake Warning System
Were loosely involved in the testing of this warning system. Up to 10 second pre alert noted.
Home/News/Seconds Before Earthquake Rattled California, Phones...
ACM TECHNEWS
Seconds Before Earthquake Rattled California, Phones …From The Eponymous Pickle
Augmented versus Virtual Meta-Verses
A space we also explored, in both senses. Harder yes, but not sure the user cares if the value is provided. And does not matter otherwise.
Why AR, not VR, will be the heart of the metaverse
Join gaming leaders, alongsideThis…From The Eponymous Pickle
D-Wave and Gate Model Quantum
Recall we talked to D-Wave regarding applications for Quantum computing, and now continue to follow them. Have often been mentioned here. Here an update in Venturebeat:
D-Wave opens up to Gate-model Quantum Computing by Jack…From The Eponymous Pickle
Pitch Perception
MIT News, Jennifer Michalowski, December 17, 2021
Neuroscientists at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) developed a computational model trained using music, voices, and other naturalistic…From The Eponymous Pickle
Implications of Google Visual Search: Bringing Eyeballs to Shopping
Been thinking of the implications of Google Lens for some time, will it now more generally emerge.
Will visual search bring eyeballs to Google Shopping?
DISCUSSION
Will visual search bring eyeballs to Google Shopping?
Oct 14, 2021…From The Eponymous Pickle
Robotic Process Automation
Well put intro piece in Venturebeat by Peter Wayner
Robotic Process Automation in 2022
In 2021, enterprise teams turned to robotic process automation (RPA) to simplify workflows and bring some order to office tasks. The next year…From The Eponymous Pickle
Explainable AI: Machine Learning
Technical, primer for explainability methods
Explainable AI (XAI) Methods Part 1 — Partial Dependence Plot (PDP)
Primer on Partial Dependence Plot, its advantages and disadvantages, how to make use and interpret it
By Seungjun…From The Eponymous Pickle
Paradox Olivia Recruiting
Pointed out to me:
Paradox software firm hits unicorn status with new $200M capital raise
By Andy Blye - Reporter, December 27, 2021, 09:37am MST
Paradox, a Scottsdale company that makes conversational recruiting software, announced…From The Eponymous Pickle
Directed Laser Light Attacks
I have a connection at Karlsruhe, seeking to connect on this.
IT Security: Computer Attacks With Laser Light
By Karlsruhe Institute of Technology
Researchers at Germany's Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT), the Technical University…From The Eponymous Pickle
Palm Oil Agriculture
An example of complex and labor intensive agricultural harvesting
Home/News/'Intelligent' Cutters for Trees to Ease Malaysia Palm..
ACM TECHNEWS, 'Intelligent' Cutters for Trees to Ease Malaysia Palm Oil Labor Crunch
'Intelligent'…From The Eponymous Pickle
Insights into Brain Functions
Insights into Brain Functions
STANN Reveals Insights Into How the Brain Functions
Baylor College of Medicine, Ana Maria Rodriguez, December 21, 2021
Baylor College of Medicine (BCM)'s Dr. Abul Hassan Samee and colleagues developed…From The Eponymous Pickle
3D Printed Home
Virginia Family Gets Keys to Habitat for Humanity's First 3D-Printed Home in U.S.
CNN, Sara Smart, December 26, 2021
A Virginia family purchased Habitat for Humanity's first three-dimensionally (3D)-printed home in the U.S., constructed…From The Eponymous Pickle
Fusion: No Magnets
New ways to efficient Fusion
MAGNETIC-CONFINEMENT FUSION WITHOUT THE MAGNETS
Zap Energy’s new Z-pinch fusion reactor promises a simpler approach to an elusive goal
TOKAMAKS, WHICH USE magnets to contain the high-temperature plasma…From The Eponymous Pickle
Exploring Emotions with VR
Emotional Engagement in VR. Neuromarketing connection?
By Max Planck Gessellschaft (Germany), December 22, 2021
Researchers at Germany's Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences (MPI…From The Eponymous Pickle
Aging in Place
Clever marketing play. Is there enough in it?
Lowe’s wants to help customers age in place, with expert comments
Dec 23, 2021, by Matthew Stern
Lowe’s recently formed a two-year partnership with AARP to provide strategies and“For…From insideHPC
@HPCpodcast: 2021 – What a Year!
It’s been a fascinating year for the HPC industry – but then, so is every year, right? In this special year-end episode of the @HPCpodcast, we discuss the highs and lows, the big trends and the major news events of 2021 – and…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Fusion Energy Update by PPPL
PPPL Unravels Puzzle to Speed Development of Fusion Energy
Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, John Greenwald, December 17, 2021
A computational technique developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Princeton Plasma…From insideHPC
Samsung Announces PCIe 5.0 SSD for Enterprise Servers
SEOUL – Dec. 23, 2021 – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. today announced the PM1743 SSD for enterprise servers, integrating the PCIe (Peripheral Component Interconnect Express) 5.0 interface with Samsung’s advanced sixth-generation…
From insideHPC
Dell Technologies Interview: How the Anvil Cluster Supports Purdue and NSF XSEDE Researchers – Including Non-Traditional HPC Users
In this interview conducted on behalf of Dell Technologies, insideHPC spoke with Carol Song, who leads the Scientific Solutions Group at Purdue University’s Rosen Center for Advanced Computing and is a senior research scientist…
From The Eponymous Pickle
Seismic Sensors Data Science
Seismic sensing and data capture and analysis also an area to watch.
Researchers Weave Optical Fibers into Seismic Sensors Science
Science, Paul Voosen, December 9, 2021
Researchers at Switzerland's ETH Zurich used a fiber optic…From The Eponymous Pickle
Webb Space Telescope Launch and the Realm of More Data
Linking to my long time interest in distant and voluminous data gathering, starting with the Hubble telescope. Plan to reach out t them regards use of data analysis. Now we are about to start a new, long term approach. IWHAT…
From Computational Complexity
Complexity Year in Review 2021
The pandemic hampered many activities but research flourished with a number of great results in complexity. Result of the year goes to
Locally Testable Codes with constant rate, distance, and locality by Irit Dinur, Shai Evra,…From The Eponymous Pickle
New rechargeable Lithium ION Batteries
Batteries have become everything, in providing IOT and beyond.
Engineers Produce 140m Flexible Rechargeable Battery
By MIT News
December 22, 2021
Researchers have developed a rechargeable lithium-ion battery in the form of an ultra…