Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
September 2021
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Develop Tool for Analyzing Large Superconducting Circuits
Method could help push forward the field of quantum computing
From ACM TechNews
Apple Issues Emergency Security Updates to Close Spyware Flaw
Apple released emergency security patches after researchers in Canada found a flaw that allows spyware from Israel's NSO Group to infect any Apple product.
From ACM TechNews
Italy Data Authority Asks Facebook for Clarifications on Smart Glasses
Italian data protection authority Garante has asked Facebook to provide it with clarifications related to its newly launched smart glasses, to determine their compliance with privacy laws.
From ACM News
A Stanford Proposal Over AI's 'Foundations' Ignites Debate
A research paper that dubs some artificial intelligence models "foundational" is sparking a dispute over the future of the field.
From ACM News
ILA Says Union Will Not Service Automated Ships Without Crews
The union specifically highlighted the efforts to develop ships guided by satellites, onboard sensors, and artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
The Latest Cybersecurity Threat: Pay Us or We Release the Data
A new type of ransomware attack involves cybercriminals stealing sensitive data and threatening to publish it online if the victim does not pay a hefty ransom.
From ACM TechNews
Do We Need Humans for That Job? Automation Booms After COVID
Service sector jobs increasingly are being automated amid the pandemic, as companies navigate worker shortages and higher labor costs.
From ACM TechNews
Bitcoin Uses More Electricity Than Many Countries. How Is That Possible?
Cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, one of the most popular, use astonishing amounts of electricity.
From ACM News
Facebook Says Its Rules Apply to All. Company Documents Reveal a Secret Elite That's Exempt.
A program known as XCheck has given millions of celebrities, politicians, and other high-profile users special treatment, a privilege many abuse.
From ACM News
GLOM: Teaching Computers to See the Way(s) We Do
Geoffrey Hinton wants to design neural networks so they have different ways of seeing the same thing.
From ACM News
Apple Issues Emergency Security Updates to Close a Spyware Flaw
Researchers at Citizen Lab found that NSO Group, an Israeli spyware company, had infected Apple products without so much as a click.
From ACM News
In the U.S., the AI Industry Risks Becoming Winner-Take-Most
From ACM News
The Road to Self-Reproducing Machines
Advances in technology will soon allow us to build machines that replicate themselves and evolve like living beings.
From ACM News
Atomically-Thin, Twisted Graphene Has Unique Properties That Could Advance Quantum Computing
The researchers' findings could lead to advances in the design of future quantum computing platforms.
From ACM News
Programming Languages: Python is on the Verge of Another Big Step Forward
Python could soon take first place in one more programming language popularity ranking.
From ACM TechNews
Almost No One Encrypts Their Emails Because It Is Too Much of a Hassle
A study of 81 million email messages sent from January 1994 to July 2021 found that only 0.06% of the emails were encrypted.
From ACM TechNews
Art, Terror Show VR Potential at Venice Film Festival
The Venice Film Festival held a spotlight to virtual reality.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Advances Put Annual Doctor Visits on Critical List
The pandemic has disrupted annual doctor visits, and digital technology, imaging, gene sequencing, and artificial intelligence likely will further virtualize physical examinations.
From ACM TechNews
Stretchy Robot Worms Could Inch Their Way into Tech Applications
Engineers at the U.K.'s University of Glasgow have designed soft robots that can move like inchworms and earthworms.
From ACM TechNews
Emissions From Computing, ICT Could Be Worse Than Previously Thought
Global information and communications technology's greenhouse gas emissions may be worse than previously calculated, suggest researchers.
From ACM TechNews
El Salvador President Steps in to Fix Bitcoin Rollout Snags
Salvadoran President Nayib Bukele has interceded in the troubled launch of a bitcoin payments application.
From ACM News
Royal Navy Reveals Future Vision Based on Autonomous Technology
The Navy's vision sees drones based in the stratosphere, which are capable of being launched at a moment's notice.
From ACM News
Computers 'Worse for Environment than Plane Travel'
The carbon impact of computers is set to rise even further, researchers warn.
From ACM News
A.I. Can Now Write Its Own Computer Code. That's Good News for Humans
A new technology called Codex generates programs in 12 coding languages and even translates between them. But it is not a threat to professional programmers.
From ACM TechNews
Only Humans, Not AI Machines, Get a U.S. Patent, Judge Rules
U.S. District Judge Leonie Brinkema in Alexandria, VA, has ruled that only an actual human can be listed as an inventor on patents under U.S. law.
From ACM TechNews
Universal System Decodes Any Type of Data Sent Across a Network
Scientists have programmed a universal algorithm to enable a silicon chip to decode any data transmitted across a network, irrespective of structure.
From ACM TechNews
AR Collection by Ukrainian Companies Hits Runway
Ukrainian clothing brand FINCH teamed up with Ukrainian technology company FFFACE.ME to develop semi-digital clothing that can be upgraded with augmented reality.
From ACM TechNews
One-Legged Robot Hops About as Researchers Try Knocking It Over
The one-legged TTI Hopper robot can stand, hop, and maintain balance on sloping or unsteady surfaces.
From ACM TechNews
AWS Researcher Merges 2 Quantum Computers to Help Make Cryptography Keys Stronger
Amazon Web Services' Mario Berta combined the capabilities of two quantum computers in order to generate truly random numbers to strengthen cryptographic keys.
From ACM News
Russia Influences Hackers but Stops Short of Directing Them, Report Says
The arrangement allows the Russian government some plausible deniability for attacks, researchers found.