Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
November 2019
From ACM TechNews
Inside CDC's Scramble to Solve Mysterious Vaping Disease
Efforts by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to investigate a spate of vaping-related injuries and deaths required building a new data-collection system.
From ACM TechNews
Search Results Not Biased Along Party Lines, Stanford Scholars Find
A research study did not uncover any apparent political bias in the algorithm of the Google search engine.
From ACM TechNews
Tracking the Eye of the Pilot
Researchers have developed and tested eye-tracking software for use in training pilots.
From ACM TechNews
Swarms of Golf Ball-Sized Robots Could Detect Leaks in the Sewers
Researchers have developed golf ball-sized robots designed to collect data as they float through pipes.
From ACM TechNews
Python Programming Language, AWS Skills Demand Exploding
Analysis of Indeed.com job search engine listings over the last five years found explosive growth in demand for skills in Python.
From ACM News
Tesla’s Autopilot Could Save the Lives of Millions, But It Will Kill Some People First
The complicated ethics of Elon Musk's grand autonomous vehicle experiment.
From ACM News
Cows Wearing VR headsets Might Produce Better Milk
They're happier in virtual fields than confined farms.
From ACM TechNews
With Face Scans, Automated Marking, Singapore Carves AI Niche
Singapore has unveiled an effort to become a global leader in artificial intelligence by 2030.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Prototype Shows Promise for Microsurgery on Eyes, Aneurysms
Researchers have developed a continuum robot that achieves multi-scale motion and may allow previously impossible complex microsurgeries.
From ACM TechNews
Most Americans Want the Government to Do More to Protect Our Data. Few Think It Will Happen
A Pew Research Center study found 75% of Americans desire greater government regulation of consumer data, while about an equal percentage doubt the government will hold companies accountable for misuse.
From ACM News
Maintaining U.S. Dominance in AI
Standards are seen as a way to eliminate bias and incorporate trustworthiness in artificial intelligence, even as the U.S. seeks to secure its lead in the field.
From ACM News
NYC Tells FedEx to Get Their Delivery Robots ‘Off Our Streets’
Mayor Bill de Blasio tweeted, "We didn't grant permission for these to clog up our streets. If we see any of these bots we'll send them packing."
From ACM News
Older IT Workers Left Out Despite Tech Talent Shortage
U.S. tech sector skews younger than the workforce as a whole, with the largest gap among employees 35 to 44.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Companies Step Up Fight Against 'Deepfakes'
Companies such as Facebook, Twitter, and Google are working to slow the spread of maliciously doctored content, known as deepfakes, ahead of the 2020 election.
From ACM TechNews
Race Is on to Build Quantum-Proof Encryption
Experts say quantum computing could upend data security encryption systems, which rely on factoring large prime numbers—a task easily scalable with the power provided by quantum computers.
From ACM TechNews
Supercomputers Simulate Solar Flares to Help Physicists Understand Magnetic Reconnection
A team of researchers has developed a supercomputer simulation that successfully models a key part of a process that produces solar flares.
From ACM TechNews
Army Technique Makes 3D Aerial Maps In Minutes
Researchers have developed a highly efficient photogrammetric method that can turn aerial imagery into accurate three-dimensional (3D) surface maps in near-real time.
From ACM TechNews
Australia Releases Draft IoT Cybersecurity Code of Practice
The Australian government has issued a draft code of practice for Internet of Things cybersecurity, with a public consultation to run until March 1, 2020.
From ACM TechNews
Google Assistant on Android Devices Could Be Tricked Into Taking Photos, Videos
Researchers at cybersecurity company Checkmarx reported flaws in the Google Assistant on Android devices that would allow hackers to take photos and videos without users' knowledge.
From ACM News
IBM: The Fight Against A.I. Bias Is Never Over
"When you deliver an A.I. system ...every design choice, not just training data, can bring unconscious bias."
From ACM News
Video Game Addiction is Now Being Recognized—What Happens Next?
Finding help can be a struggle for gamers who feel their playing has gotten out of control.
From ACM TechNews
Are Hiring Algorithms Fair? Study Finds They're Too Opaque to Tell
A study by Cornell University researchers raises doubts about algorithms' ability to make fair decisions when screening potential hires.
From ACM TechNews
Las Vegas Brings AI to Traffic Lights
Las Vegas is using artificial intelligence to facilitate real-time traffic analysis in order to relieve traffic congestion.
From ACM TechNews
White House Updates National Strategic Computing Initiative
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has released an update to the National Strategic Computing Initiative.
From ACM TechNews
States, Cities Make Cybersecurity Pledge After Trump Administration Rejects It
Several U.S. state and local governments are signing an international pledge aimed at making cyberspace safer, even though the Trump administration will not endorse it.
From ACM TechNews
Intel Fixes a Security Flaw It Said Was Repaired
Researchers discovered the continued existence of vulnerabilities in Intel's computer processors that the company said were patched months ago.
From ACM News
Bitcoin Will Burn the Planet Down. The Question: How Fast?
A new paper concludes that it takes more than four times as much energy to mine $1 of bitcoin as mining $1 of copper.
From ACM TechNews
Bots Are More Successful If They Impersonate Humans
A team of researchers found that human-robot interactions are more successful when the bots are able to hide their non-human identity.
From ACM TechNews
Team of 'White Hat' Hackers Found Bugs in Amazon Echo, Galaxy S10
A pair of security researchers found vulnerabilities across multiple devices including an Alexa-powered Amazon Echo and a Samsung Galaxy S10 smartphone.
From ACM TechNews
Computing Power Needed to Train AI Is Rising Seven Times Faster Than Before
The computational power needed to train AI models is doubling at a rate seven times faster than before.