Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2019
From ACM TechNews
Cybersecurity System Offers Protection Against Hacking, Censorship
Researchers have developed a cybersecurity system that sets a new standard in the fight to protect users from malicious online attacks.
From ACM TechNews
Top niversities Join to Push 'Public Interest Technology'
Twenty-one leading U.S. universities have formed a group that aims to promote programs to teach students how to handle the consequences of technology.
From ACM TechNews
Tonight's Dinner? In a Cooler-Sized Robot That Knows Where You Live
Venture-backed startups have been dispatching cooler-sized robots in cities around the U.S. to deliver food and groceries to customers' doorsteps.
From ACM TechNews
Cooler Screens' Display Cases Scan Your Face to Size p Buying Habits
Chicago-based Cooler Screens has developed a facial-profiling system that tries to guess what consumers will buy next based on how they appear in front of a refrigerated case.
From ACM Careers
Republicans Want Kaspersky, Huawei Banned from Sensitive niversity Research Projects
If Kaspersky, Huawei and ZTE are suspected of helping Russia and China spy on U.S. government computer systems, they shouldn't be allowed near sensitive academic research projects.
From ACM News
The World Wide Web Turns 30. Where Does It Go From Here?
Sir Tim Berners-Lee, on his invention of the World Wide Web in 1989.
From ACM News
Shuttering of NSA Surveillance Program Emboldens Privacy Groups
The potential end to a controversial National Security Agency phone records collection program is energizing privacy groups and lawmakers who have long called for stricter limits on domestic surveillance powers.
From ACM News
How Quantum Sensing Is Changing the Way We See the World
Imagine a world where you can find out exactly what lies under your feet, get advanced warning of volcanic eruptions, look around corners or into rooms, and detect initial signs of multiple sclerosis.
From ACM News
How the Internet Travels Across Oceans
The internet consists of tiny bits of code that move around the world, traveling along wires as thin as a strand of hair strung across the ocean floor. The data zips from New York to Sydney, from Hong Kong to London, in the time…
From ACM TechNews
AI Efforts at Large Companies May Be Hindered by Poor Quality Data
Poor-quality customer and business data may be keeping companies from leveraging digital tools to reduce costs, increase revenue, and stay competitive.
From ACM TechNews
An All-in-One Cyber Toolkit for Criminal Investigations
Researchers at Purdue University have developed an all-in-one platform to help investigators solve cybersecurity crimes.
From ACM TechNews
ltra-Low Power Chips Help Make Small Robots More Capable
A new ultra-low power hybrid chip inspired by the human brain could help small robots collaborate and learn from their experiences.
From ACM Opinion
Berners-Lee Says World Wide Web, at 30, Must Emerge from 'Adolescence'
The fraying World Wide Web needs to rediscover its strengths and grow into maturity, its designer Tim Berners-Lee said on Monday, marking the 30th anniversary of the collaborative software project his supervisor initially dubbed…
From ACM News
The World Needs Big Data
Big data can support the achievement of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals.
From ACM News
Top niversities Join to Push 'Public Interest Technology'
As technology becomes increasingly pervasive in American life, universities across the United States have been devising ways to teach students how to grapple with the consequences on society.
From ACM TechNews
India Fights Diabetic Blindness With Help From AI
The Aravind Eye Hospital in Madurai, India, is working with Google artificial intelligence scientists to automate the identification of diabetic retinopathy.
From ACM TechNews
When Passion for Videogames Helps Land That Job
Employers across a spectrum of industries are welcoming applicants with experience in making or playing videogames.
From ACM TechNews
Self-Driving Cars Risk 'Future Errors' Due to Difficulty Detecting Darker Skin Tones
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have found that state-of-the-art object-detection systems are better at detecting people with lighter skin tones.
From ACM TechNews
NSA Makes Ghidra, a Powerful Cybersecurity Tool, Open Source
The U.S. National Security Agency has chosen to open source the cybersecurity tool Ghidra, a reverse-engineering platform that takes "compiled" software and "decompiles" it.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Brings Rugged Iditarod Race to Global Audience
Alaska's Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race uses technology so organizers and fans worldwide can monitor the race in real time.
From ACM TechNews
These Cameras Can Spot Shoplifters Even Before They Steal
Japanese startup Vaak has developed artificial intelligence software that looks for potential shoplifters on video surveillance footage.
From ACM News
'Brilliant' Man Who Was An Inventor of the Calculator Dies
Jerry Merryman was one of the three men credited with inventing the handheld calculator while working at Dallas-based Texas Instruments.
From ACM News
Canada’s New Federal Directive Makes Ethical AI a National Issue
How do you ensure an AI platform or service fairly and adequately caters to the needs of its clients?
From ACM News
Huawei Suit Against .S. Tries to Go Where Russian Firm Failed
Huawei Technologies Co., the Chinese telecom giant facing multiple criminal indictments in the U.S., is expanding on a Russian company's failed legal argument to bolster its claim that American authorities have gone too far in…
From ACM Careers
Jerry Merryman, Co-Inventor of the Pocket Calculator, Dies at 86
Jerry Merryman, a self-taught electrical engineer who helped design the first pocket calculator, died on Feb. 27 in Dallas. He was 86.
From ACM TechNews
Israeli Moon Lander 'On the Right Path' Despite Recent Glitch
Israel's first lunar lander, nicknamed Beresheet, is back on course for the Moon despite recently missing a planned orbit-raising engine burn due to an unexpected computer reset.
From ACM TechNews
What Programming Languages Engineers, Employers Love--and Hate
A survey on the love/hate relationships between software engineers and coding languages found Google's Go language was the global leader.
From ACM TechNews
Ocean Life in 3D: Mapping Phytoplankton With a Smart AV
Norwegian University of Science and Technology scientists are using autonomous underwater vehicles to map out phytoplankton distribution in the North Atlantic Ocean.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Put Ichthyosaurs in Virtual Water Tanks
Researchers have used computer simulations and three-dimensional models to learn more about how Mesozoic-era ichthyosaurs swam.
From ACM TechNews
New Zealand Farmers Have New Tool for Herding Sheep: Drones That Bark Like Dogs
New Zealand farmers are using drones to herd livestock.