Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2020
From ACM TechNews
Half of Technology Workers Want to Find a New Job in 2020
A survey by recruitment firm Harvey Nash found half of 1,200 technology professionals in the U.K. would like to switch jobs in 2020, with salary and work-life balance the most important drivers.
From ACM TechNews
AI Shortcuts Speed Simulations Billions of Times
Researchers used artificial intelligence to generate accurate machine learning emulator algorithms for accelerating simulations billions of times, for all scientific disciplines.
From ACM TechNews
Data Driving New Approaches to Transportation
Shifts in transportation highlight cities' need for data management to cope with traffic, digital platforms, and other trends.
From ACM TechNews
What's the Hottest Job in Tech?
Technology recruiting firm Dice's analysis of 6 million U.S. job postings last year found the single largest category of tech job openings was that of software developer.
From ACM TechNews
Printing Tiny, High-Precision Objects in Seconds
A new high-precision technique can print small, soft objects in three dimensions in seconds.
From ACM TechNews
Mac Software Threats Climbed 400% in 2019, More Than Microsoft Windows, Report Says
A report from cybersecurity company Malwarebytes concluded that Mac computers are more vulnerable to software threats than Microsoft Windows systems.
From ACM TechNews
An Algorithm That Grants Freedom, or Takes It Away
Local authorities in the U.S. and Europe use predictive governance algorithms to assess people's risk of criminality, and base probation, jail time, and other decisions on such evaluations.
From ACM TechNews
From Detecting Lung Cancer to Spotting Counterfeit Money, a New Imaging Technology Could Have Countless Uses
Spectrally encoded enhanced representations is a new color spectrum identification method that provides greater clarity and works faster and at greater definition than current techniques.
From ACM TechNews
Reconfigurable Robot Can Climb Up Its Own Track
Researchers in Israel have developed a mobile robot that can change its entire body shape on a link-by-link basis, using an extra actuator to "build its own track in the air as it advances."
From ACM TechNews
Google's ML-Fairness-Gym Lets Researchers Study the Long-Term Effects of AI's Decisions
Researchers at Google have developed a set of components for evaluating algorithmic fairness in simulated social environments.
From ACM News
The End of Internet Freedom?
Russia and other countries are turning to more stringent Internet controls that threaten the free flow of information.
From ACM News
The High Cost of a Free Coding Bootcamp
Students at Lambda School say the program hasn't delivered on its promise.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Companies Cut Back on Robots in 2019
U.S. companies installed fewer robots last year compared to 2018, according to a report from the Association for Advancing Automation .
From ACM TechNews
Self-Driving the Longest Route Yet
A self-driving vehicle has completed a 230-mile drive along roads in Britain as part of a project overseen by researchers at the U.K.'s University of Leeds and automaker Nissan.
From ACM TechNews
Brazil Takes a Page From China, Taps Facial Recognition to Solve Crime
Brazil is following China's example and adopting facial-recognition technology to crack down on crime.
From ACM TechNews
Google, LinkedIn, Others Send Employees Into New York Classrooms
Tech companies with offices in New York City—including Google, LinkedIn, and Spotify—are sending employees to teach 22 computer science courses at the City University of New York this semester.
From ACM TechNews
Engineers Built a Stable Quantum Silicon Chip From Artificial Atoms
Researchers have found a way to make artificial atoms on a silicon chip more stable by drawing in additional electrons to the atoms' outer shell, which could produce more consistent quantum bits (qubits).
From ACM TechNews
Deep Learning Accurately Forecasts Heat Waves, Cold Spells
A new computer system used deep learning to teach itself to accurately predict extreme weather events like heat waves and cold spells, based on a minimal amount of weather data.
From ACM TechNews
FAA Moves Toward Certifying Specific Drones for Package Deliveries
The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration has proposed new safety standards for specific unmanned-aircraft models, a significant step toward eventually authorizing drones to deliver packages to consumers.
From ACM TechNews
The Top 10 Software Flaws Used by Crooks
Researchers at cybersecurity firm Recorded Future report that eight of the top 10 software flaws most commonly exploited last year were associated with Microsoft software.
From ACM TechNews
Making 3D Printing Smarter with Machine Learning
Researchers have spent six years to improve the printing accuracy of three-dimensional (3D) printing software by 50% or more.
From ACM News
Good at StarCraft? DARPA Wants to Train Military Robots with Your Brain Waves
The University at Buffalo's gaming project is all about trying to make machines that think more like humans.
From ACM News
Finding a Face in the Crowd
Prototype software will make it easier to track people, individually or in groups.
From ACM News
Trump Wants to Double Spending on AI, Quantum Computing
White House budget calls for annual spending of $2 billion on artificial intelligence and $860 million on quantum technologies within two years.
From ACM TechNews
Australia Focusing on Blockchain Potential with New Roadmap
Australia's government has released a blockchain roadmap outlining a strategy to facilitate job creation, economic growth, more cost-efficient business, and higher productivity in that country.
From ACM TechNews
Fusion Startups Step in to Realize Decades-Old Clean Power Dream
Startups are trying to make clean fusion-generated electricity a reality by designing systems for squeezing atoms together.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Simulation for Understanding Brain Cancer Growth
A new three-dimensional simulation combines the macroscopic scale of tissue with the microscopic scale of individual cells to realistically model the mechano-biology of cancer.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Submarine Snaps First Images at Foundation of Antarctic Glacier
A robotic submarine captured the first-ever images of the foundations on the ocean floor of the Thwaites Glacier in Antarctica.
From ACM TechNews
Countries Debate Openness of Future National IDs
More than half of African countries are developing some form of biometric or digital national identification (ID).
From ACM TechNews
Research Data Puts Self-Driving Cars to the Ultimate Test: Canadian Winter
Researchers have created a dataset for training future autonomous vehicles to drive in winter conditions.