Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2018
From ACM News
Europe's New Privacy Law Will Change the Web, and More
Consumers have long wondered just what Google and Facebook know about them, and who else can access their personal data. But internet giants have little incentive to give straight answers—even to simple questions like, "Why am…
From ACM News
Five Things to Know about Russian Attacks on the Energy Grid
Trump administration officials on Thursday accused the Russian government of staging a multi-year cyberattack campaign against the energy grid and other elements of critical infrastructure in the United States.
From ACM TechNews
How Accurate Is Your AI?
A researcher at Kyoto University in Japan has developed a new technique that evaluates an artificial intelligence program's ability based on the nature of its input data.
From ACM TechNews
Can Bitcoin Technology Improve Research Data Integrity? This Clemson Professor Thinks So
Researchers at Clemson University have developed a technique to secure raw data using blockchain, the technology behind Bitcoin.
From ACM TechNews
STEM is Losing Male LGBQ Undergrads
A recent study provides quantitative evidence that STEM fields have a problem retaining men who identify as part of the LGBQ community, while LGBQ women are actually more likely to persist in STEM fields than their heterosexual…
From ACM TechNews
Field-Data Study Finds No Evidence of Racial Bias in Predictive Policing
Predictive policing does not lead police to make discriminatory arrests, according to research conducted at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis.
From ACM TechNews
Origami-Inspired 'Inspector Gadget Robotic Arm'
Researchers at Seoul National University's Soft Robotics Research Center have developed a foldable origami-inspired robotic arm that can self-fold while also being highly rigid.
From ACM News
Live High Definition Video From Mars? NASA Is Getting Ready
Nothing conveys the excitement of space exploration like pictures from another planet. Now NASA is planning to go one better than pictures.
From ACM News
Machine Learning Classifies Cancer
Accurate diagnosis is essential for appropriate disease treatment.
From ACM TechNews
New AI Can Tell If a Person Is Male or Female by Reading Their Smile
A new artificial intelligence system that identifies gender by reading a person's smiles.
From ACM TechNews
'Body on a Chip' Could Improve Drug Evaluation
A microfluidic platform links engineered tissues from multiple human organs to replicate organ-drug interactions so medications' effects on different parts of the body can be modeled.
From ACM TechNews
sing Artificial Intelligence to Investigate Illegal Wildlife Trade on Social Media
Researchers in Finland say artificial intelligence can be used to help monitor illegal wildlife trade on social media.
From ACM TechNews
Mapping Battery Materials With Atomic Precision
Researchers have demonstrated how the ratio of materials that make up a lithium-ion battery electrode impacts its structure at the atomic level.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Tortoise Helps Kids to Learn That Robot Abuse Is a Bad Thing
Researchers used a tortoise-shaped robot to teach children not to abuse robots.
From ACM News
Pentagon Wants Silicon Valley’s Help on A.I.
There is little doubt that the Defense Department needs help from Silicon Valley's biggest companies as it pursues work on artificial intelligence. The question is whether the people who work at those companies are willing to…
From ACM News
Expert Says Graduates in AI Should Take Oath: 'I Must Not Play at God nor Let My Technology Do So'
Allen Institute for Artificial Intelligence CEO Oren Etzioni suggests artificial intelligence should be "developed from a higher moral ground today."
From ACM News
NASA Dawn Reveals Recent Changes in Ceres' Surface
Observations of Ceres have detected recent variations in its surface, revealing that the only dwarf planet in the inner solar system is a dynamic body that continues to evolve and change.
From ACM News
Madison Square Garden Has Used Face-Scanning Technology on Customers
Madison Square Garden has quietly used facial-recognition technology to bolster security and identify those entering the building, according to multiple people familiar with the arena's security procedures.
From ACM News
The Perfect Selfishness of Mapping Apps
What is the price of anarchy?
From ACM TechNews
AI Assistants Say Dumb Things, and We're About to Find Out Why
A new test will pose elementary-school-level multiple-choice science questions to artificial intelligence systems.
From ACM News
Brain-Emulating Chips Get Smarter, Smaller, More Efficient
Neuromorphic chips manage "many cores" by connecting artificial neurons with artificial neurons, mirroring how human brains operate.
From ACM News
ACM, CSTA Announce Cutler-Bell Prize Student Winners
The Cutler-Bell Prize promotes the field of computer science and empowers students to pursue computing challenges beyond the classroom environment.
From ACM News
British Cyber Option to Punish Russia Prompts Fear of 'Electronic War'
Of all the ways Theresa May could hit back against Russia over the poisoning of an agent on British soil, a cyberattack seems almost fitting.
From ACM News
Cracking Open the Black Box of AI with Cell Biology
The deep neural networks that power today's artificial intelligence systems work in mysterious ways.
From ACM News
Researchers Restore 'Feeling' to Lost Limbs, Kinda
The bionic hand closes slowly. Its slender metal digits whirr as they jitter into a loose fist, as though they are wrapping around an invisible baton.
From ACM TechNews
Software Aims to Reduce Food Waste by Helping Those in Need
Iowa State University researchers have developed software to divert excess food to those in need.
From ACM TechNews
TSA Researchers Want to Teach Computers to Learn Like Humans
Researchers have created a new cloud-based learning platform for artificial intelligence designed to teach machines to learn like humans.
From ACM TechNews
Demand for Blockchain Experts Surges Amid Skills Shortage
China's need for blockchain technology experts is soaring.
From ACM TechNews
of R Researchers Developing Automated Pain Detection System for Dementia Patients
University of Regina researchers have developed a system that can recognize when non-verbal adults with dementia are in pain.
From ACM TechNews
Off-the-Shelf Smart Devices Found Easy to Hack
Researchers have determined commercially available smart devices such as baby monitors, home security cameras, doorbells, and thermostats can easily be hacked for nefarious purposes.