Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
July 2022
From ACM TechNews
NIST Promotes Testbed to Address Threats Targeting ML Systems
NIST's National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has demonstrated an experimental testbed to address cybersecurity threats targeting machine learning algorithms.
From ACM TechNews
In Ukraine War, a Race to Acquire Smarter, Deadlier Drones
Drones are in high demand among both Ukrainians and Russians as the war continues.
From ACM TechNews
Making Computers Smarter--with TikTok Dance Videos
A doctoral student is using TikTok dance videos to build lifelike three-dimensional avatars of people for use in virtual reality environments.
From ACM News
Raising the Voices of the Dead
Experts urge caution in using AI agents to simulate dead people.
From ACM News
Computer Science Proof Unveils Unexpected Form of Entanglement
Three computer scientists have solved the NLTS conjecture, proving that systems of entangled particles can remain difficult to analyze even away from extremes.
From ACM News
Flawed AI Makes Robots Racist, Sexist
New work led by several universities, including Johns Hopkins, shows neural networks built from biased Internet data teach robots to enact toxic stereotypes.
From ACM News
What AI Still Doesn't Know How to Do
Artificial intelligence programs that learn to write and speak can sound almost human—but they can't think creatively like a small child can.
From ACM News
How Companies Subtly Trick Users Online with 'Dark Patterns'
So far this year, there have been multiple lawsuits filed against prominent tech companies for their alleged use of dark patterns to deceive users.
From ACM TechNews
DNA Typewriter Taps Out a Record Inside Cells
Researchers have developed a DNA typewriter that can encode text in cells.
From ACM TechNews
'Retbleed' Speculative Execution Attack Affects AMD, Intel CPUs
The "Retbleed" flaw targets older AMD and Intel central processing units as a channel for Spectre-based speculative-execution attacks.
From ACM TechNews
Underwater Glove Puts Octopus' Abilities on the Hand of Humans
Researchers have developed a glove inspired by an octopus for securely gripping objects underwater.
From ACM TechNews
Cryptomining Capacity in U.S. Rivals Energy Use of Houston
A Congressional probe found seven of the largest U.S. bitcoin mining companies could cumulatively use as much electricity as all the homes in Houston.
From ACM News
Would You Pay $40 a Month to Have Strangers Watch You Work?
People still working remotely are turning to virtual co-working spaces for accountability through a Zoom screen.
From ACM News
Ethereum Merge: How Crypto's Carbon Footprint Is About to Shrink
Ethereum, the second biggest blockchain in the world, is transitioning to proof of stake. That sentence may not make sense to you, but it's a huge deal.
From ACM TechNews
The Webb Space Telescope's Profound Data Challenges
The James Webb Space Telescope's data-collecting operations present a number of challenges, including dependence on a reliable communications subsystem.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Model Predicts Whether a Pesticide Will Harm Bees
Oregon State University researchers trained a machine learning model to forecast whether new herbicides, fungicides, or insecticides would harm honey bees.
From ACM TechNews
Videogame Prescribed by Doctors to Treat ADHD
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved the use of a computer game to treat children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
From ACM TechNews
A Health Monitoring Wearable That Operates Without a Battery
University of California, Irvine researchers have developed a self-powered, wireless wearable device that can monitor a user's pulse.
From ACM News
In a Post-Roe World, the Future of Digital Privacy Looks Even Grimmer
The sheer amount of tech tools and knowledge required to discreetly seek an abortion underlines how wide open we are to surveillance.
From ACM News
Fred Hutch, Amazon Collaborating on Clinical Trial to Test Vaccines Against Cancer
Neither Amazon or the Seattle-based Fred Hutch organization specified whether the trial was part of a wider collaboration.
From ACM News
Scientists Jack Into Subjects' Brains, Find That They Can Identify Deepfakes Subconsciously
Okay, that's weird.
From ACM News
D-Wave's 500-Qubit Machine Hits the Cloud
Experimental prototype offers sneak peek of 7,000-qubit quantum computer.
From ACM TechNews
Miners Are Relying More on Robots. Now They Need Workers to Operate Them.
At Rio Tinto's Gudai-Darri mine in western Australia, iron ore is hauled by almost two dozen driverless carts, with autonomous water carts used to control dust.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Track Crypto Pump-and-Dump Operations on Social Media
Researchers investigated cryptocurrency scammers' pump-and-dump practices, through which they buy cryptocurrency coins low, collaboratively inflate the price, then sell high.
From ACM TechNews
Imaging Technique Visualizes Gene Expression in Brains of Live Mice in Real Time
An international team of researchers has created a method for visualizing mRNA molecules in the brains of live mice in real time.
From ACM TechNews
Hundreds of Windows Networks Infected with Raspberry Robin Worm
A private threat intelligence advisory issued by Microsoft warns that hundreds of Windows networks are infected with the Raspberry Robin worm.
From ACM News
Am I Getting Sick?
The future of over-the-counter at-home medical tests is trending toward multiple-malady detection.
From ACM TechNews
A 'Wise Counsel' for Synthetic Biology
Researchers have developed a modular software application for optimizing biological systems, which they said does not require computational skills to use.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Defeat Facial Recognition Systems with Universal Face Mask
Researchers have found that facial recognition systems may be thwarted by fabric face masks bearing adversarial patterns.
From ACM TechNews
New Zealand VR App Helps Conquer Phobias
oVRcome, a phone-based virtual reality (VR) application designed to treat phobias, successfully completed a six-week clinical trial.