Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
February 2023
From ACM TechNews
Harvard Shutting Down Project Studying Social Media Misinformation
Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government announced that next year it will close a research facility that studied online misinformation.
From ACM News
Space Robots Prepare to Grapple and Repair Satellites in Orbit
An interview with William Vincent, Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites (RSGS) program manager at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory.
From ACM News
Five Takeaways From the House G.O.P. Hearing With Former Twitter Executives
The Oversight Committee called the session to scrutinize whether the social media platform has censored the right, but it yielded new revelations about the company's permissive approach.
From ACM News
Disinformation Researchers Raise Alarms About A.I. Chatbots
Researchers used ChatGPT to produce clean, convincing text that repeated conspiracy theories and misleading narratives.
From ACM News
AI as Co-Pilot: Your Online Life Is About to Change, Like It or Not
Microsoft has Bing powered by the tech behind OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google has Bard, and many more are on the way.
From ACM News
Microsoft Will Let Companies Create their own Custom Versions of ChatGPT, Source Says
Microsoft plans to release technology to help big companies launch their own chatbots using the OpenAI ChatGPT technology, a person familiar with the plans told CNBC.
From ACM News
How Big Tech Rewrote the Nation's First Cellphone Repair Law
Documents reveal tech lobbyists revised a right-to-repair bill before New York's governor signed it.
From ACM News
Study Reveals a Key Reason Fake News Spreads on Social Media
A study of more than 2,400 Facebook users indicates that platforms, rather than individual users, have a greater responsibility in curbing the dissemination of false information online.
From ACM TechNews
Silicon Valley Layoffs Mean D.C. Is Hotter Tech Hiring Market
Layoffs by technology giants and startups have created a windfall for nontechnology companies in Washington, D.C., and New York City starved for software engineers.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Propose Fourth Light on Traffic Signals - for Self-Driving Cars
North Carolina State University researchers proposed the addition of a "white light" to traffic signals to allow autonomous vehicles to help control the flow of traffic.
From ACM TechNews
Israeli Computer Scientist Helps Crack Secrets of Mary Queen of Scots' Lost Letters
Israeli computer scientist George Lasry led an international research team to decipher secret coded letters written by Mary, Queen of Scots, over four centuries ago.
From ACM News
Meta, Long an A.I. Leader, Tries Not to Be Left Out of the Boom
It has long had technology to rival chatbots like ChatGPT, but can't afford to back artificial intelligence that can spread misinformation and toxic content.
From ACM News
Is AI Enough to Smooth Traffic in Famously Congested Areas?
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has begun deploying smarter technology at the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the George Washington Bridge to help improve traffic operations.
From ACM News
Microsoft Unveils AI-Powered Bing, a New Challenge to Google Search
Microsoft is building AI technology based on the same foundation as ChatGPT into search, Edge, Office, and other products.
From ACM TechNews
Apps Aim to Douse Social Media Dumpster Fire
New social apps are being introduced that promote a more positive online environment.
From ACM TechNews
Helper Robots Being Deployed to Ease Burden on Hospital Staff
The U.K.'s National Health Service is exploring the deployment of helper robots to alleviate the burden on hospital personnel amid a nurse shortage.
From ACM News
Underdog Technologies Gain Ground in Quantum-Computing Race
Individual atoms trapped by optical 'tweezers' are emerging as a promising computational platform.
From ACM News
Google Unveils Bard, Its ChatGPT Rival for AI-Powered Conversation
With a Microsoft event expected to center on ChatGPT expected today, the AI chatbot war is heating up.
From ACM News
The Holy Grail of Electric Vehicles: Solid-State Batteries
Manufacturers look to make batteries safer and help them last longer by replacing liquid cores with solid ones.
From ACM News
Inside the Project Trying to Save Datasets from Extinction
Researchers race to find ecological data kept on outdated media or in dusty backroom boxes—before they're lost forever.
From ACM News
The Race to Build a ChatGPT-Powered Search Engine
A search bot you converse with could make finding answers easier — if it doesn't tell fibs. Microsoft, Google, Baidu, and others are working on it.
From ACM News
A Watermark for Chatbots can Expose Text Written by an AI
The tool could let teachers spot plagiarism or help social media platforms fight disinformation bots.
From ACM TechNews
Flying Robot Echolocates Like a Bat to Avoid Hitting Walls
Frederike Dümbgen and colleagues have equipped a flying robot to use bat-like echolocation to map its surroundings using a simple microphone and speaker.
From ACM TechNews
Applying Scientific Method to Bail Reform
More than 50 state, city, and county jurisdictions in the U.S. have implemented the Public Safety Assessment (PSA) tool to shift from cash-based bail systems to fairer judicial procedures.
From ACM TechNews
Bioengineered Skin Grafts Fit Like a Glove
Columbia University researchers have developed a method for growing engineered skin in complex, three-dimensional shapes to make it easier to graft skin onto irregularly shaped body parts.
From ACM News
At This School, Computer Science Class Now Includes Critiquing Chatbots
Move over, coding. Some schools are asking student programmers to think critically about rapid advances in artificial intelligence.
From ACM News
AI Tech Enables Industrial-Scale Intellectual-Property Theft, Say Critics
Are ChatGPT, Stability AI, and GitHub Copilot the next big breakthroughs, huge legal and regulatory liabilities, or something else entirely?
From ACM TechNews
Wearable Sensor Provides Cardiac Imaging on the Go
A new portable ultrasound device uses custom algorithms to measure how much blood is being pumped by the heart.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Birkin Bags on Trial in Hermès Case Testing IP Rights
French luxury brand Hermès is suing digital artist Mason Rothchild in a New York court to prevent him from selling nonfungible tokens (NFTs) of its Birkin handbags.
From ACM TechNews
Smart Contact Lens Diagnoses, Treats Glaucoma
A smart contact lens can monitor intraocular pressure (IOP) in glaucoma patients and deliver medications in response to IOP levels.