Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2018
From ACM News
Europe’s AI Researchers Launch Professional Body Over Fears of Falling Behind
Universities on the continent are rapidly losing talent to industry in the United States and China, say scientists behind the initiative.
From ACM News
China Has Never Had a Real Chip Industry. Making AI Chips Could Change That.
Donald Trump is speaking Mandarin.
From ACM News
Mathematician Inducted into Space and Missiles Pioneers Hall of Fame
West was among the so-called "Hidden Figures" part of the team who did computing for the U.S. military in the era before electronic systems.
From ACM Careers
International Students Steer Clear of Graduate Programs in the nited States
The number of international students enrolling in U.S. graduate programs is falling, according to reports from the U.S. Council of Graduate Schools in Washington, D.C., and the Institute of International Education in New York…
From ACM TechNews
Computer Chip Vulnerabilities Discovered by WS Researchers
Washington State University researchers have found previously undetected vulnerabilities in high-performance computer chips.
From ACM TechNews
The Making of a Computer-Generated Influencer
Miquela Sousa is a computer-generated character developed as a social media personality that can evolve with the times without aging.
From ACM TechNews
Radical New Neural Network Design Could Overcome Big Challenges in AI
A new design for neural networks lacks traditional stacked layers of simple computational nodes that work together to find patterns in data.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Network Joins Four People Together for Encrypted Messaging
A new network design uses quantum key distribution to secure messages among four users.
From ACM TechNews
Foldable Drone Can Navigate Narrow Holes
A new drone can compress itself to pass through narrow spaces and then revert to its previous shape, all while continuing to fly.
From ACM News
The Key to Cracking Long-Dead Languages
Broken and scorched black by fire, the dense, wedge-shaped marks etched into the ancient clay tablets are only just visible under the soft light at the British Museum. These tiny signs are the remains of the world's oldest writing…
From ACM News
Quantum Computing Needs You to Help Solve Its Core Mystery
Since 2016, IBM has offered online access to a quantum computer. Anyone can log in and execute commands on a 5-qubit or 14-qubit machine located in Yorktown Heights, New York, from the comfort of their own home.
From ACM TechNews
Major Companies Are sing AI to Decide Who You Speak to on the Phone
Many large companies around the world use artificial intelligence-based software to manage millions of call-center conversations.
From ACM TechNews
Taming Turbulence: Seeking to Make Complex Simulations a Breeze
Researchers used state-of-the-art supercomputers to examine how turbulence in the atmosphere plays out over long periods of time
From ACM TechNews
Canada, France Plan an International Panel to Assess AI Dangers
Canada and France recently announced plans for an international panel to assess the dangers of artificial intelligence and formulate appropriate policies.
From ACM News
Seeking Equilibria in Economics, Computer Science
Daskalakis' work brings deep theoretical analysis to bear on high-impact problems with direct effects on real-world applications.
From ACM News
NASA's InSight Takes Its First Selfie
NASA's InSight lander isn't camera-shy. The spacecraft used a camera on its robotic arm to take its first selfie—a mosaic made up of 11 images.
From ACM News
Inside Huawei's Secret HQ, China Is Shaping the Future
The surprise arrest of Meng Wanzhou, chief financial officer of Huawei Technologies Co., has thrust the company into a political firestorm and deepened a core threat: that more and more countries will blacklist its switches, …
From ACM TechNews
Supercomputers Without Waste Heat
A team of researchers has demonstrated that lossless electrical transfer of magnetically encoded information is possible.
From ACM TechNews
IHMC Teaches Atlas to Walk Like a Human
Roboticists at the Institute for Human and Machine Cognition are teaching Boston Dynamics' humanoid robot Atlas a more natural walking gait.
From ACM TechNews
Machine Learning Identifies Cryptocurrency Scams Before They Happen
Researchers in the U.K. have developed an algorithm that can predict "pump-and-dump" cryptocurrency scams prior to their occurrence.
From ACM TechNews
'Superhuman' AI Triumphs Playing the Toughest Board Games
DeepMind's self-learning AlphaZero algorithm has demonstrated superhuman success at complex board games including chess, shogi, and go.
From ACM TechNews
AI as Talent Scout: Unorthodox Hires, and Maybe Lower Pay
Companies are turning to services that use artificial intelligence to vet potential hires amid a tight labor market.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers se Computer Model to Predict Prostate Cancer Progression
Researchers from Denmark and Germany trained a computer model on prostate cancer patient data to predict disease progression.
From ACM News
Finding Alien Life May Require Giant Telescopes Built in Orbit
After snapping the final piece into place with a satisfying "click" she feels through her spacesuit gloves, the astronaut pauses to appreciate the view.
From ACM TechNews
Purdue Researchers Devise 3D Printer That Can Make Energetic Materials Safer
Researchers have developed a three-dimensional printing technique that fabricates energetic materials with fine geometric features faster and at less cost than traditional methods.
From ACM TechNews
Xiaomi's AI Restores Details, Enhances Colors in Poorly Exposed Photos
Researchers at Chinese smartphone company Xiaomi have devised an artificial intelligence system that corrects details and colors in poorly exposed photos.
From ACM TechNews
This Plant Is Driving Its Own Robot
Elowan is a mobile cybernetic plant with a robotic base.
From ACM News
Smarter Voice Assistants Recognize Your Favorite Brands—and Health
People often surrender their data privacy to their continuously listening voice assistants without understanding the implications.
From ACM News
Evelyn Berezin, 93, Dies; Built the First True Word Processor
Berezin built and marketed the first computerized word processor.
From ACM News
Europe's Influence Over .S. Tech Was More Formidable Than Ever in 2018
The influence of the biggest US tech companies is as powerful in Europe as anywhere else in the world. But what sets Europe apart is that the relationship is, to an extent, reciprocal.