Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2020
From ACM TechNews
Clock is Ticking on Tackling Threat to Power Grid
Washington State University researchers have evaluated the threat presented by Internet-linked devices connected to the U.S. electric power grid.
From ACM TechNews
SIM Swapping, Poor Web Security Put Millions at Risk
Researchers at Princeton University have found that two-factor authentication is easily hackable and could put millions of people at risk.
From ACM TechNews
Seattle-Area Election Puts Mobile Voting to a Test
A local election in the Seattle area is serving as a test of a mobile-voting system.
From ACM TechNews
Waymo Self-Driving Minivans Take to More U.S. Roads
Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car project is expanding testing of its autonomous Chrysler Pacifica minivans and long-haul trucks to roads in Texas and New Mexico.
From ACM News
Report: Whichever Country Claims AI Supremacy This Decade Will Rule the Earth
Global economy expert Indermit Gill predicts the global leader in artificial intelligence in 2030 will go on to rule the planet for the balance of this century.
From ACM TechNews
The Best Tech Jobs for 2020, According to Glassdoor
Employer review website Glassdoor's report on the 50 best jobs in the U.S. for 2020 includes 20 technology professions, which also filled the top seven spots.
From ACM TechNews
China is Closing Gap with U.S. on Research Spending
The U.S. National Science Foundation estimated China's research and development funding is rapidly catching up to that of the U.S.
From ACM News
Can Antiferromagnetic Materials Replace Silicon in Future Computers?
Seeking alternatives to silicon as Moore’s Law approaches its end.
From ACM News
Microsoft Discloses Security Breach of Customer Support Database
Five servers storing customer support analytics were accidentally exposed online in December 2019.
From ACM News
Toshiba Says it Created an Algorithm that Beats Quantum Computers using Standard Hardware
The company hopes to commercialize it in the financial industry
From ACM TechNews
U.K. Police Use of Facial Recognition Tests Public's Tolerance
The testing of facial recognition technology by police in the U.K. has provoked outrage.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. to Ground Civilian Drone Program on Concerns Over China Tech
The U.S. Department of the Interior reportedly plans to permanently ground a civilian drone fleet, because the approximately 1,000 drones are partly sourced from China.
From ACM TechNews
Who's Liable, the AV or the Human Driver?
Columbia Engineering and Columbia Law School researchers havew developed a fault-based liability rule for regulating autonomous vehicle manufacturers and human drivers.
From ACM TechNews
AB InBev Taps Machine Learning to Root Out Corruption
Brewer Anheuser-Busch InBev spent three years developing machine learning technology to spot corruption in its business partners.
From ACM TechNews
The Way You Dance is Unique, and Computers Can Tell It's You
Researchers at Finland’s University of Jyvaskyla have taught computers to identify individuals by their dance style.
From ACM TechNews
Brain-Like Network Uses Disorder to Detect Order
Researchers have developed a brain-inspired disordered network for detecting ordered patterns, which uses "hopping conduction" to reach solutions without predesigned elements.
From ACM News
AI Can Do Great Things—if It Doesn't Burn the Planet
The computing power required for AI landmarks, such as recognizing images and defeating humans at Go, increased 300,000-fold from 2012 to 2018.
From ACM News
Alan Turing's Degree, Medal, Memorabilia Recovered in Colorado
Items seized after woman offered them for loan to university.
From ACM TechNews
Study Finds AI Viable Tool to Detect Changes in Patients' Mental Health
A study found machine learning artificial intelligence is as accurate as physicians in detecting changes in clinical states from patients' speech.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computing Remains a Challenge for Tech Firms
Some big technology companies and startups have found their progress on quantum computing remains in the early stages, despite years of substantial investment.
From ACM TechNews
Brain Model Offers New Insights Into Damage Caused by Stroke, Other Injuries
The University at Buffalo's Christopher McNorgan has developed a computer model of the human brain that more accurately simulates brain-impairment patterns than previous techniques.
From ACM News
Avoiding Carsickness When the Cars Drive Themselves
If the future lets people focus on work instead of driving during the daily commute, many of us will have to conquer motion sickness to read memos (or tweets). Researchers are working on some fixes.
From ACM News
New MacArthur Fellow Takes Aim at Online Harassment, Doxing
Danielle Citron, a privacy scholar who has done pioneering work in combating hate crimes and other abuses in cyberspace, has been named a 2019 MacArthur fellow.
From ACM News
How 'Spooky' is Quantum Physics? The Answer could be Incalculable
Proof at the nexus of pure mathematics and algorithms puts 'quantum weirdness' on a whole new level.
From ACM TechNews
Are Your Students Bored? This AI Could Tell You
Researchers have created an artificial intelligence (AI) system that analyzes students' emotions to measure their engagement level in a class.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Start-up Develops AR Contact Lenses
Start-up Mojo Vision is developing augmented reality contact lenses to allow wearers access to the Internet in real time.
From ACM TechNews
A Robot Equipped with Real Feathers Flies Like a Bird
Stanford University researchers affixed actual pigeon feathers to a robot to allow it to fly like a bird.
From ACM TechNews
Gov. Murphy Aims to Train More Workers for High-Tech Jobs
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has announced a new program that would help train workers for careers in computer science and other high-tech jobs.
From ACM TechNews
A Low-Power, Highly Responsive, Reusable Sweat pH Monitor
National University of Singapore researchers have developed an upgrade to wearable health monitors that can read the pH of wearers' sweat.
From ACM TechNews
Bundesliga, Amazon Want to Predict What Happens Next
Germany’s Bundesliga professional football (soccer) league is making Amazon its official technology provider, providing statistics (among other things) for the soccer league's TV broadcasts and digital products.