Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
January 2024
From ACM News
Law Enforcement Braces for Flood of Child Sex Abuse Images Generated by A.I.
Artificial intelligence technology has drastically simplified the creation of images of children being exploited or abused, whether real or fake.
From ACM News
In Memoriam: John R. Rice
Rice was named to the National Academy of Engineering "for leadership in founding the field of mathematical software and for fundamental contributions to its content."
From ACM TechNews
India's Ancient Carpet Weaving Industry Meets AI
Carpet weavers in India's Kashmir region have incorporated AI into their design process.
From ACM TechNews
Neuralink Implants Chip in Human Brain
A human that received an implant from brain-chip startup Neuralink is recovering well, according to founder Elon Musk.
From ACM TechNews
Coal: Don't Burn It, Compute with It
Researchers have developed a method for creating ultrathin insulating films for semiconductors using coal.
From ACM TechNews
Europe Launches AI One-Stop Shop with Supercomputers for Startups
The European Commission announced on Jan. 24 that AI Factories will be launched as a one-stop shop to give startups access to AI-dedicated supercomputers.
From ACM TechNews
Rapid 3D-Printing Technique Uses Liquid Metal
A 3D-printing technique developed by Massachusetts Institute of Technology researchers increases printing speed by using liquid metal.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon's Ring to Shutter Video-Sharing Program
Amazon's Ring announced law enforcement and government agencies will no longer be allowed to solicit footage from doorbell cameras directly from users through the Neighbors app.
From ACM News
Governments Are Spying on Your Push Notifications
Companies are being compelled to turn over potentially valuable push notification metadata to authorities.
From ACM TechNews
Data Science Major Takes Off
The National Center for Education Statistics reported that 897 data science bachelor's degrees were awarded in 2022, up from just 84 in 2020.
From ACM TechNews
Life-Saving 'Robot Medics' for Triage in High-Risk Places
Researchers at the U.K.'s University of Sheffield developed an uncrewed ground vehicle outfitted with robotic arms to serve as a medic in disaster and conflict zones.
From ACM TechNews
iPhone Apps Secretly Harvest Data When They Send Notifications
Security researchers found that some iPhone apps are using notifications to get around Apple's privacy rules governing the collection of user data.
From ACM TechNews
Blockchain Computing Simulates Early Earth
Researchers leveraged the Golem blockchain protocol to simulate a network of chemical interactions that may have played a role in the origin of life.
From ACM TechNews
Cat Qubit Error Correction Architecture
A new quantum error-correction architecture could reduce quantum computer hardware requirements.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Insect Moves Across Water
A robot developed by Washington State University researchers mimics insects that are supported by surface tension as they move across water.
From ACM TechNews
NVMe Consortium Polishes Its Specs to Support Computational Storage
The NVM Express (NVMe) consortium has established a standardized method for applications to talk to storage devices with processing capabilities.
From ACM TechNews
Using VR to Get Inside the Criminal Mind
Researchers at Australia's Edith Cowan University are using virtual reality technology to gain insights into decision-making by criminals.
From ACM TechNews
Shape-Shifting Robot Lands on Moon
A lunar robot has successfully landed on the Moon.
From ACM TechNews
AI Is Decoding the Animal Kingdom
Researchers increasingly are looking to generative AI to better understand animal languages.
From ACM News
Cryptographers Just Got Closer to Enabling Fully Private Internet Searches
Three researchers have found a long-sought way to pull information from large databases secretly. If the process can be streamlined, fully private browsing could be possible.
From ACM News
New AI Framework Can Create Images From Nothing
Blackout Diffusion generates samples comparable to current diffusion models, but require fewer computational resources.
From ACM News
Do You Think the Chatbot Likes Me?
Artificial intelligence chatbots increasingly are being given distinct personalities to increase the appeal of interacting with them.
From ACM News
2023 ACM Fellows Celebrated for Contributions to Computing That Underpin Our Daily Lives
Members of the global society are hailed for their work, including advances to AI Technologies, the World Wide Web, graphics, cybersecurity, mobile computing, and software.
From ACM TechNews
Is Google Search Getting Worse?
A study by German researchers found that Google's search results are deteriorating in quality.
From ACM TechNews
Japan Turns to Innovation to Tackle Labor Crisis
Japan, the world's fastest-aging economy, is turning to technologies like AI, avatars, and robots to address labor shortages.
From ACM TechNews
Deepfake Audio of Biden Alarms Experts
A telephone message containing deepfake audio of U.S. President Joe Biden called on New Hampshire voters to avoid yesterday’s Democratic primary and save their votes for the November election.
From ACM News
New Error Correction Trick could Make Quantum Computers 200 Times Smaller
Using a combination of error-correction approaches, researchers could make a quantum computer with physical qubits available today.
From ACM TechNews
Robots Are Changing the World of High Jewelry
Robots increasingly are being used to automate the jewelry-making process.
From ACM TechNews
DNA Sequencing Helps Craft Database of Marine Microbes
Researchers at Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah University of Science and Technology created a detailed database of marine microbe information.
From ACM TechNews
Reddit Mentions May Help Predict Changes in Cryptocurrency Value
University of California, Riverside researchers identified a connection between cryptocurrency prices and the number of Reddit posts mentioning a currency in the platform's cryptocurrency forums.