Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
October 2020
From ACM TechNews
Opening the Black Box of Neural Networks
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory researchers used deep learning neural networks to model water molecule interactions.
From ACM News
The Future of Hotel Design
Mobile guest rooms, enhanced contactless room controls, robotic servers, and pop-up dining areas are a few of the ideas hotel designers are considering for the post-Covid travel world.
From ACM News
U.S. Accuses Google of Illegally Protecting Monopoly
A victory for the government could remake one of America's most recognizable companies and the internet economy that it has helped define.
From ACM News
Microsoft Teams With Elon Musk’s SpaceX to Push Cloud Battle With Amazon Into Orbit
The space-cloud initiative is targeting military and commercial customers and comes after Amazon announced its own space effort,
From ACM TechNews
Visa, JPMorgan Already Preparing for Potential Quantum Cyberattacks
Researchers at Visa Inc. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. are developing new processes to try to thwart eventual quantum computing cyberattacks.
From ACM TechNews
Imaging the Secret Lives of Immune Cells in the Eye
University of Rochester researchers have developed a technique for imaging and tracking the interactions of microscopic immune cells in a human eye without using dyes.
From ACM News
U.S. Files Antitrust Lawsuit Against Google
The Justice Department filed its long-awaited lawsuit against Google.
From ACM News
Virtual Reality Meets the Office
"Virtual meeting spaces greatly expand the possibilities for online communication—and, at their best, create an environment that parallels or exceeds real world interaction."
From ACM News
When We Can Hug Again, Will We Remember How It Works?
How to navigate when you should and shouldn't hug someone — and how not to hold on too long.
From ACM News
Split-Second 'Phantom' Images Can Fool Tesla's Autopilot
Researchers found they could stop a Tesla by flashing a few frames of a stop sign for less than half a second on an Internet-connected billboard.
From ACM News
How Does Google's Monopoly Hurt You? Try These Searches
Right under our noses, the Internet's most-used website has been getting worse.
From ACM TechNews
The Contest to Protect Almost Everything on the Internet
Hundreds of the world's leading cryptographers are competing to develop encryption standards to protect online data against classical and quantum-computing cyberattacks.
From ACM TechNews
Bringing Power Tool From Math Into Quantum Computing
Scientists at Japan's Tokyo University of Science designed a novel quantum circuit that calculates the fast Fourier transform faster and more efficiently than previously possible.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Dolphin Could Replace Captive Animals at Theme Parks One Day
A U.S. engineering company has designed a robot dolphin in the hope that such animatronic machines eventually could substitute for captive animals at theme parks.
From ACM TechNews
Buenos Aires Using Facial Recognition System That Tracks Child Suspects, Rights Group Says
Human Rights Watch says Buenos Aires is using a facial recognition system connected to a database that includes child suspects and is publishing warrants for their arrest.
From ACM TechNews
Undocumented Backdoor That Covertly Takes Snapshots Found in Kids' Smartwatch
Researchers at Norwegian security company Mnemonic found an undocumented backdoor in the X4 smartwatch marketed by children's watch vendor Xplora.
From ACM TechNews
Voter Check-in System to Blame for Slow-Moving Lines in Georgia
Check-in computers unable to accommodate record turnouts were mainly to blame for slow-moving lines at early voting locations this week in Georgia.
From ACM News
Internet Freedom Has Taken a Hit During the Covid-19 Pandemic
From surveillance to arrests, governments are using the novel coronavirus as cover for a crackdown on digital liberty.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Moves to Protect Technologies Considered Critical to National Security
The U.S. National Security Council on Thursday issued guidelines to protect technologies crucial to national security.
From ACM TechNews
FBI/DHS: Government Systems Face Threat From Zerologon Exploits
The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security have detected attackers exploiting a Windows vulnerability against state and local governments.
From ACM TechNews
In Singapore, Facial Recognition Getting Woven Into Everyday Life
Singaporeans will be able to access government and other services through a facial recognition feature in its SingPass national identity program.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Model Simulation Explains Star Distributions in Galaxy Discs
Researchers used a new computer model to show the impact of gas clouds on the exponential fade in galaxy discs in an effort to explain star distributions.
From ACM TechNews
Japan Supercomputer Shows Humidity Affects Aerosol Spread of Coronavirus
Humidity can have a major impact on the dispersion of virus particles, according to a study by researchers at Kobe University in Japan and research giant Riken.
From ACM News
CA Says General Motors Can Test Fully Driverless Cars on Its Roads
"Before the end of the year, we'll be sending cars out onto the streets of SF—without gasoline and without anyone at the wheel," Cruise CEO Dan Ammann wrote in a company blog.
From ACM News
Twitter Changes Course After Republicans Claim ‘Election Interference’
It had blocked an unsubstantiated New York Post article about the Bidens, but said late Thursday that it would allow similar content to be shared.
From ACM News
'Machines Set Loose to Slaughter': the Dangerous Rise of Military AI
Autonomous machines capable of deadly force are increasingly prevalent in modern warfare, despite numerous ethical concerns. Is there anything we can do to halt the advance of the killer robots?
From ACM News
2.1 Million of the Oldest Internet Posts Are Now Online for Anyone to Read
Jozef Jarosciak just put millions of early Usenet posts on a browsable archive for the first time.
From ACM News
How Old is Your Brain?
Machine learning can help assess the physical age of one’s brain.
From ACM TechNews
Can Businesses Keep Up With Cyber Threats?
Market research firm Gartner forecasts cybersecurity spending by companies and governments will grow 9% annually from 2021 to 2024.
From ACM TechNews
Squeezing Light Inside Memory Devices Could Help Improve Performance
Researchers led by the U.K.'s University of Cambridge have developed a technique for "squeezing" visible light in order to probe nanoscale memory devices,.