Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
December 2023
From ACM TechNews
AI-Assisted Piano Allows Disabled Musicians to Perform Beethoven
The AI-assisted "Anybody's Piano" tracks notes of music and augments a player's performance by adding whatever keystrokes are needed but not pressed.
From ACM TechNews
New York Times Sues OpenAI and Microsoft Over AI Use of Copyrighted Work
The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft for copyright infringement, contending that millions of its articles were used to train automated chatbots that now compete with it as a source of reliable information.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Teleport Images in 'Star Trek' Advance
An international team from the University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa and the Institute of Photonic Sciences in Spain "teleported" images across a network without physically sending them.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Combine Photonic Filter and Modulator on a Single Chip
Researchers at Australia's University of Sydney combined a photonic filter and modulator on a chip to enable the precise detection of signals across a wide band of radiofrequency spectrum.
From ACM TechNews
Former Prime Minister Uses AI to Campaign from Prison in Pakistan
The Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf political party used an AI tool from ElevenLabs to create a voice clone of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, which allowed Khan to make a four-minute speech at a "virtual rally" on social media despite…
From ACM TechNews
Japanese Scientists Build 'Robot Dragon' That Fights Fire
Researchers in Japan have created a firefighting robot called Dragon Firefighter with a firehose that can change shape and be oriented towards flames.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Mold Model for More Nimble Networks
A programmable network model developed by scholars from Cornell University and the Open University of the Netherlands offers the ability to customize packet scheduling.
From ACM TechNews
NASA Flies Drones Autonomously for Air Taxi Research
In work related to advancing self-flying capabilities for air taxis, researchers at NASA’s Langley Research Center recently flew multiple drones beyond visual line of sight with no visual observer.
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Regulators Propose New Online Privacy Safeguards for Children
The U.S. Federal Trade Commission has proposed major changes to the Children’s Online Privacy Protection Act of 1998.
From ACM TechNews
Mercedes Adds Blue Car Light for Self-Driving
Mercedes-Benz has received approval to add external turquoise blue lights to its vehicles that indicate when they are in self-driving mode.
From ACM TechNews
Bionic Prostheses Empower Wounded Ukrainian Soldiers
About 20,000 Ukrainians have had amputations since the war with Russia started in February 2022. Some were able to receive bionic prostheses.
From ACM News
National Lab Works to Cap, Reduce Carbon
Argonne National Laboratory will use supercomputers to help companies advance clean energy technologies with ultra-fidelity simulations and data analysis.
From ACM TechNews
Caltech, Broadcom Partner on Quantum R&D
A multi-year partnership between the California Institute of Technology and Broadcom aims to advance quantum science research and development.
From ACM TechNews
SUTD Professor Designs 3D-Printed 'Trees' for Singapore Pavilion at COP28
Two 3D-printed “trees” made of stainless steel and upcycled plastic waste were centerpieces of the Singapore pavilion at the U.N. COP28 climate conference.
From ACM TechNews
Pangolin-Poaching Hot Spots Revealed by DNA Tests
University of California, Los Angeles researchers developed a method for tracing the smuggling routes of pangolins using DNA tests.
From ACM TechNews
Microsoft Targets Nuclear to Power AI Operations
Microsoft is looking to tap nuclear power for its artificial intelligence and supercomputing electricity needs.
From ACM News
The Greatest Degree Program Ever
Georgia Tech is among the most employer-connected, industry-aligned universities in the country with growing enrollments at every level.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Gives Sound Directionality to Hearing Aids
Researchers at Taiwan's National Cheng Kung University have developed a hearing aid system with sound directionality.
From ACM TechNews
U.K. Tech Sector Gender Gap Could Take 'Nearly 300 Years' to Close Without Intervention
At the U.K.’s BCS, the Chartered Institute for IT, researchers found it could take as long as 283 years for that nation’s tech industry to close the gender gap.
From ACM TechNews
Hidden Pattern in Children's Eyes Can Reveal Autism
Researchers have demonstrated the use of AI to screen for and determine the severity of autism in children and teens based on images of their retinas.
From ACM News
Google Allows More App Payment Options in Antitrust Deal With States
The tech giant will pay $700 million and allow app makers to collect payments directly in a settlement it hopes will help resolve other legal challenges.
From ACM TechNews
Helping Robots Learn Quickly in New Environments
A new algorithm reduces the amount of data necessary to train robots and enable them to perform tasks.
From ACM TechNews
The New York Times Hires First Newsroom Leader Focused on AI
The New York Times said Quartz co-founder Zach Seward has been hired to develop principles for "how we do and do not use generative AI."
From ACM TechNews
Autonomous Subs Wayfind Without GPS
Researchers used reinforcement learning to improve the ability of uncrewed underwater vehicles to navigate without GPS.
From ACM News
Bigger, Not Necessarily Better
The inverse scaling issue means larger LLMs sometimes handle things less well.
From ACM TechNews
Vera Molnár, Pioneer of Computer Art, Dies at 99
Vera Molnár, a Hungarian-born artist who has been called the godmother of generative art for her pioneering digital work, died Dec. 7 in Paris at age 99.
From ACM TechNews
Tesla Recalls 2 Million Cars with 'Insufficient' Autopilot Safety Controls
Tesla is recalling more than 2 million vehicles to fix Autopilot systems that government regulators determined did not have enough controls to prevent misuse.
From ACM TechNews
Human Brain-Like Supercomputer Coming Next Year
Researchers have developed a neuromorphic supercomputer than can perform 228 trillion synaptic operations per second.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Bring Molecules Back from the Dead to Fight Superbugs
A research team is using computational methods to mine genetic information from extinct human ancestors to identify candidates for new antibiotics.
From ACM TechNews
Robo-Dog Sets 100-Meter Sprint Guinness World Record
Guinness World records labeled a dog-like robot created by a team at the Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology the fastest quadrupedal robot.