Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
March 2023
From ACM TechNews
Crewless Container Ships Appear on the Horizon
The Norwegian container ship Yara Birkeland eventually will be a crewless vessel that navigates via radar and cameras, feeding sensor data to artificial intelligence to identify obstacles in the water.
From ACM TechNews
Hackers Drain Bitcoin ATMs of $1.5 Million by Exploiting 0-Day Bug
General Bytes reported that over $1.5 million in bitcoin was drained from Internet-accessible wallets via its bitcoin ATMs by hackers that exploited a previously unknown zero-day vulnerability.
From ACM TechNews
Gordon Moore, Who Co-Founded Intel, Dies at 94
Intel co-founder and Silicon Valley pioneer Gordon E. Moore has died at 94.
From ACM News
Metaverse Landlords Are Creating a New Class System
Virtual landowners have found a way to put their investments to work, but with unintended consequences.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers May Finally Have Practical Use
Researchers have developed a method for certifying that quantum computers generate truly random numbers without having to inspect the process.
From ACM TechNews
Simulation Reveals Secrets of Exotic Form of Electrons
University of Texas at Austin researchers mapped polarons, quasiparticles consisting of an electron and its surrounding distortions of atoms in a crystal lattice. through supercomputer simulations.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Reveal Inaudible Remote Cyber-Attacks on Voice Assistant Devices
Researchers developed the Near-Ultrasound Inaudible Trojan to show how hackers can exploit the vulnerabilities of smart device microphones and voice assistants remotely and silently online.
From ACM News
Mozilla Launches Startup Focused on 'Trustworthy' AI
The creators of large language models say that they're taking steps to curb abuse, but Mozilla felt not enough was being done.
From ACM News
Yes, ChatGPT Is Coming for Your Office Job
White-collar workers may soon face the AI disruption everyone's been panicking about. But the news may be better than you think.
From ACM News
Decentralized Social Media Rises as Twitter Melts Down
Mastodon is just the start—here comes the Fediverse.
From ACM TechNews
Generative AI's Next Frontier Is Video
Startup Runway AI Inc. has rolled out Gen 2, an artificial intelligence model that produces short video clips based on brief user prompts.
From ACM TechNews
Artificial Pancreas Developed at UVA Improves Blood Sugar Control for Kids Ages 2-6, Study Finds
University of Virginia (UVA) researchers found that the Control-IQ diabetes management system improved blood sugar control in 2- to 6-year-olds with type 1 diabetes.
From ACM TechNews
Bug-Sized Robots Keep Flying After Wing Damage
Artificial muscles created by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers can enable insect-sized aerial robots to repair themselves following damage.
From ACM TechNews
Math Answers Behavior of Bat Ears, Inspiring Real-World Upgrade on Batman's Tech
Bioengineers at Japan's Hiroshima University developed a mathematical model of bat ears' echolocation-related movements to ascertain the optimal pinnae motions that could amplify navigation.
From ACM News
Capturing What is Said
Artificial intelligence is boosting the capabilities of automatic speech recognition.
From ACM News
William A. Wulf, Pioneering Computer Scientist, Dies at 83
One of the first people to receive a graduate degree in the field, Wulf helped to adapt an early Pentagon communications web into the network that eventually grew into the Internet.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Make a Seven-Ingredient 3D-Printed Cheesecake
Columbia University scientists three-dimensionally (3D)-printed a slice of seven-ingredient peanut butter-banana cheesecake with a cherry drizzle.
From ACM TechNews
Configurable Robots Can Be Mixed, Matched for Tasks in Space
Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers engineered the Walking Oligomeric Robotic Mobility System (WORMS) to revolutionize space robotics.
From ACM TechNews
Wave of Stealthy China Cyberattacks Hits U.S., Private Networks, Google Says
Researchers in Google's Mandiant division have found state-sponsored hackers in China have been evading common cybersecurity tools and spying on government and business networks for years.
From ACM News
Google Just Launched Bard, its Answer to ChatGPT—and it Wants You to Make It Better
Under pressure from its rivals, Google is updating the way we look for information by introducing a sidekick to its search engine
From ACM TechNews
Deepfake 'News' Videos Ramp Up Misinformation in Venezuela
Generative AI technology from Synthesia was used to create recent deepfake videos that attempted to spread misinformation and propaganda in Venezuela.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Develop Soft Robot That Shifts from Land to Sea with Ease
Soft robots developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University can transition from walking to swimming or crawling to rolling, shifts found in most animals.
From ACM TechNews
Password Mismanagement Still at the Heart of Security Issues
Government employees in the United States and internationally often reuse passwords for their work and personal accounts, according to researchers at threat intelligence firm SpyCloud.
From ACM TechNews
Python-Based Compiler Achieves Performance Speedups
The Codon compiler, from a team led by researchers from MIT CSAIL, allows developers to create new domain-specific languages within Python while achieving performance that rivals the C and C++ programming languages.
From ACM TechNews
'Spell-Checker for Statistics' Reduces Errors in Psychology Literature
The statcheck online tool developed by Michèle Nuijten at Tilburg University in the Netherlands has reduced statistical errors in scientific papers.
From ACM News
A Video Game Company Made a Bot the CEO, and Its Stock Climbed
The stock of NetDragon Websoft has outpaced the Hong Kong market in recent months since appointing a virtual bot as CEO of its flagship subsidiary.
From ACM News
Quantum Breakthrough Paves Way for Experimental Wormhole
An innovative method overcomes significant hurdle in scaling quantum prototypes.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Develop Mobile System for Object Detection, Image Analysis in Disaster Response
A prototype system developed by researchers at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory can detect and assess utility pole damage following natural disasters.
From ACM TechNews
Flinders University Scientists Use Biology from Insects to Build Robots with a Brain
Researchers at Australia's Flinders University were inspired by insect biology to build robots equipped with a brain capable of comprehending their environment.
From ACM TechNews
'Talking' Concrete Could Help Prevent Traffic Jams, Cut Carbon Emissions
U.S. interstates are preparing to test sensors developed by Purdue University researchers that could help prevent congestion and lower carbon emissions.