Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2020
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Build Model to Detect Early Signs of Depression in Text
Scientists at Canada's University of Alberta have created a machine learning model that can identify linguistic clues indicating early signs of depression in written text, like Twitter messages. T
From ACM TechNews
BadPower Attack Corrupts Fast Chargers to Melt or Set Your Device on Fire
Chinese security researchers from Tencent's Xuanwu Lab said they can corrupt the firmware of fast chargers to cause damage to the items they charge.
The BadPower exploit alters the default charging setting to deliver more …From ACM TechNews
Meet Scout: Amazon Is Taking Its Prime Delivery Robots to the South
Amazon has announced the deployment of its Scout autonomous delivery system to Atlanta, GA, and Franklin, TN, following year-long pilots elsewhere.
From ACM TechNews
Google Promises Privacy with Virus App but Can Still Collect Location Data
Despite Google's promise that its smartphone software does not track user locations, governments were surprised to learn location-setting must be active for the software to work with Android phones.
From ACM TechNews
'Quantum Rainbow'--Photons of Switching Colors Allow Room-Temperature Quantum Computing
Purdue University engineers have developed a quantum random walk method that could eventually allow computers to sift through data at incredibly fast speeds.
From ACM News
‘Ethically troubling.’ University Reopening Plans Put Professors, Students on Edge
Universities across the United States are grappling with how to reopen safely amid a pandemic.
From ACM News
What's That Smell?
A new system can mimic the brain's olfactory senses.
From ACM TechNews
Blueprint for the Perfect Coronavirus App
Researchers have outlined the ethical and legal challenges of developing and implementing digital tools for managing the Covid-19 pandemic.
From ACM TechNews
New York Bans Facial Recognition in Schools Statewide
The New York State legislature Wednesday passed a moratorium on the use of facial recognition and other biometric identification methods in schools statewide until 2022.
From ACM TechNews
Top Programming Languages 2020
Python's dominance as the most popular programming language is holding steady in 2020, according to IEEE Spectrum's latest rankings of top languages.
From ACM TechNews
Self-Driving Industry Takes to the Highway After Robotaxi Failure
FThe autonomous vehicle industry is refocusing on more-profitable opportunities after efforts to commercialize robotaxis failed to live up to the hype.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Developing Tools to Calculate AI's Carbon Footprint
Researchers are creating tools to calculate the carbon footprint of artificial intelligence models to help developers understand their environmental impact.
From ACM Careers
University Reopening Plans Under Fire
Hundreds of universities across the United States are poised to reopen their campuses this fall with a mix of online and in-person courses. Academics are dismayed.
From ACM News
New DOE Blueprint to Pave the Way for a Nationwide Quantum Internet
"The Department of Energy is proud to play an instrumental role in the development of the national quantum Internet," U.S. Secretary of Energy Dan Brouillette said in a news release.
From ACM News
A Tool for Hardening Java Crypto
A new tool identifies cryptographic vulnerabilities in Java (and soon, in Python) automatically.
From ACM News
Tracking Misinformation Campaigns in Real-Time Is Possible, Study Shows
The researchers hope software engineers will be able to build on their work to create a real-time monitoring system for exposing foreign influence in American politics.
From ACM TechNews
Photon-Based Processing Units Enable More Complex Machine Learning
Researchers proposed a new machine learning approach that induces a photonic tensor core to conduct multiplications of matrices in parallel, boosting the speed and efficiency of deep learning paradigms.
From ACM TechNews
Facebook Built a Fiber-Spinning Robot to Make Internet Service Cheaper
Engineers have developed a robot that can install fiber cables on medium-voltage power lines.
From ACM TechNews
Light Shaken, Stirred to Help Autonomous Vehicles Better Scan for Nearby Fast-Moving Objects
Researchers have developed a technique for realizing higher-resolution detection of nearby fast-moving objects in frequency modulated continuous wave LiDAR, critical for autonomous vehicles.
From ACM News
Partnering With AI
Human-machine interaction gets a fresh look.
From ACM TechNews
Demand for Robot Cooks Rises as Kitchens Combat Covid-19
Restaurant chains are testing the use of cooking robots.
From ACM TechNews
Autonomous Vehicles to Race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway
Over three dozen universities worldwide will compete in the Indy Autonomous Challenge, a race between self-driving vehicles to be held at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in October 2021.
From ACM TechNews
Rock Star, Web Founder Teaming Up on Technology
The Interspecies I/O forum last week announced the $1-million Coller Prize for Interspecies Conversation, whose backers include rock artist Peter Gabriel and former ACM president Vint Cerf.
From ACM TechNews
Trump Administration Establishes $75-Million Quantum Computing Centers
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy and the U.S. National Science Foundation are investing $75 million in three quantum computing centers.
From ACM TechNews
Uncovering Crime Patterns Using Location Data
Researchers have demonstrated a method for inferring crime patterns, using anonymized data from location technology platforms.
From ACM TechNews
Major Security Flaws Found in South Korea Quarantine App
Software engineer Frederic Rechtenstein found a South Korean mobile application designed to enforce pandemic quarantines contained major security flaws that could compromise users' private information.
From ACM TechNews
Transparent, Reflective Objects Now Within Grasp of Robots
Roboticists at Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) have developed a technique that uses a color camera to enable robots to pick up transparent and reflective objects.
From ACM TechNews
'Hands Free': Automakers Race to Next Level of Not-Quite-Self-Driving Cars
Auto industry executives are speeding up plans to automate routine driving tasks and aim to make the technologies widely available within five years.
From ACM TechNews
India Seeks to Limit Facebook, Google Dominance Over Online Data
An expert committee appointed by the Indian government has called for the creation of a new data regulator to oversee the sharing, monetization, and privacy of information collected online.
From ACM News
Google Promises Privacy With Virus App but Can Still Collect Location Data
Some government agencies that use the software said they were surprised Google may pick up the locations of certain app users. Others said they had unsuccessfully pushed Google to make a change.