Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2023
From ACM TechNews
Apps for Older Adults Contain Security Vulnerabilities
Researchers at Canada's Concordia University found security bugs in 95 of 146 popular Android applications designed for older adults.
From ACM News
Surgeon General Issues New Advisory About Effects Social Media Use Has on Youth Mental Health
Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy urges action to ensure social media environments are healthy and safe.
From ACM News
The Fall of Silicon Valley Bank
An overreliance on technology startups could have been a major factor in its demise.
From ACM TechNews
Taiwan Is Running Low on Engineers
Leaders of Taiwan's semiconductor industry fear the nation's supply of engineers will be unable to meet demand for new talent.
From ACM TechNews
Quantum Computers Compared
Scientists compared leading quantum computers using the Quantum Computing User Program at the U.S. Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
From ACM TechNews
Engineering a New Way to Feed Gorillas
Georgia Institute of Technology scientists have built an automatic feeding machine for gorillas at Zoo Atlanta that allows for more natural foraging.
From ACM News
Silicon Valley, Cradle of Computer Chips, Gains Big New Research Center
Applied Materials is betting technical talent at nearby universities and the local companies that design chips will spur innovation quickly, making up for cost differences with other locations.
From ACM News
A.I. May Help Design Your Favorite Video Game Character
Generative A.I. is already changing how games are made, with Blizzard Entertainment training an image generator on assets from World of Warcraft, Diablo, and Overwatch.
From ACM News
Would You Take Financial Advice From A.I.?
The financial services industry is plotting how to incorporate tools like ChatGPT into its products. But humans will still be necessary to provide personal advice.
From ACM News
E.U. Slaps Meta With Record $1.3 Billion Fine for Data Privacy Violations
Industry representatives argue the ruling creates legal uncertainty for many companies who commonly transfer data across international waters.
From ACM TechNews
At G-7 Summit, Leaders Call for International Standards on AI
World leaders at the Group of Seven summit in Japan called for the development of international standards to limit the potential damage from rapid innovations in artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
Virtual Fences for Cattle Find a Home on the Range
Cattle ranchers increasingly have access to virtual fences that allow them to use electronic collars to keep their cows from wandering away.
From ACM TechNews
College is Remade as Tech Majors Surge, Humanities Dwindle
Higher education institutions are seeing rising enrollment in computer science at the same time interest in humanities is declining.
From ACM News
Another Side of the A.I. Boom: Detecting What A.I. Makes
More than a dozen companies have popped up to offer services aimed at identifying whether photos, text, and videos are made by humans or machines.
From ACM News
Congress Really Wants to Regulate A.I., But No One Seems to Know How
Yet another hearing—this one with OpenAI's Sam Altman—has come after a new technology with the possibility to fundamentally alter our lives is already in circulation.
From ACM News
Facebook Has Crowbarred Open the Pandora's Box of AI, Experts Warn
"You can't prevent people from creating nonsense or dangerous information or whatever."
From ACM News
Linking IT's Energy Consumption to Carbon Emissions
New guidelines aim to measure, and ultimately reduce, the digital impact of the enterprise on the environment.
From ACM TechNews
IBM, Google Give $150 Million for U.S.-Japan Quantum-Computing Push
Quantum computing research has been given a boost at the University of Chicago and Japan's University of Tokyo with a $150-million investment from IBM and Google.
From ACM TechNews
'Digital Twin' of the Titanic Shows Shipwreck in Stunning Detail
Digital imaging by deepwater seabed mapping company Magellan for U.K. TV production company Atlantic Productions has yielded a "digital twin" of the RMS Titanic.
From ACM TechNews
Dark Web ChatGPT Unleashed: Meet DarkBERT
Researchers have created a large language model trained on Dark Web data.
From ACM News
Your Digital Life Isn't as Permanent as You Think It Is
Google will delete accounts after two years of inactivity, and experts expect more data deletion policies to come.
From ACM News
Supreme Court Rules for Google, Twitter in Closely Watched Cases
The Court ruled the families of terrorism victims had not shown the companies "aided and abetted" attacks on their loved ones.
From ACM TechNews
AI Drug Discovery Is $50-Billion Opportunity for Big Pharma
Drugmakers worldwide are adopting artificial intelligence in the hope of accelerating drug discovery and time to market while cutting costs.
From ACM TechNews
Technologists Develop FatNet Algorithm
The FatNet algorithm can convert any convolutional neural network into a specialized network that is more compatible with an optical artificial intelligence accelerator.
From ACM TechNews
Statistical Simulator Supports Benchmarking Tool to Mimic Omics Data
A next-generation in-silico statistical simulator can support a benchmarking tool for medical and biological researchers to assess and validate computational methods.
From ACM TechNews
Light-Field Sensor for 3D Scene Construction with Unprecedented Angular Resolution
National University of Singapore scientists created a three-dimensional light-field sensor that can reconstruct scenes with ultra-high angular resolution.
From ACM News
DarkBert AI Was Trained Using Dark Web Data
Researchers turned to the depths of the dark web to train this new language model
From ACM News
Can We Stop Runaway A.I.?
Technologists warn about the dangers of the so-called singularity. But can anything actually be done to prevent it?
From ACM News
Spooked by ChatGPT, US Lawmakers Want to Create an AI Regulator
At a congressional hearing, senators from both parties and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said a new federal agency was needed to protect people from AI gone bad.
From ACM News
Microsoft Says New A.I. Shows Signs of Human Reasoning
A provocative paper from researchers at Microsoft claims A.I. technology shows the ability to understand the way people do. Critics say those scientists are kidding themselves.