Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2018
From ACM News
At Beijing Security Fair, an Arms Race for Surveillance Tech
It can crack your smartphone password in seconds, rip personal data from call and messaging apps, and peruse your contact book.
From ACM News
Frozen Pluto Has Wind-Blown Dunes Made of Methane Sand
Part of the wonder of seeing new worlds is the radical difference from the planet you know.
From ACM TechNews
Meet REMS, the Robot That Discovered $17 Billion in Sunken Treasure
Two years ago, an autonomous underwater vehicle from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institute located an underwater wreck containing $17 billion in sunken treasure.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Devise More Effective Location Awareness for the Internet-of-(many)-Things
Tufts University researchers have developed an enhanced algorithm for localizing and tracking mobile devices that distributes the task among the devices themselves.
From ACM Opinion
How Close Are We, Really, to Building a Quantum Computer?
The race is on to build the world's first meaningful quantum computer—one that can deliver the technology's long-promised ability to help scientists do things like develop miraculous new materials, encrypt data with near-perfect…
From ACM News
From topia to Dystopia, and Back Again
Sir Tim Berners-Lee considers the past, present, and future of the World Wide Web.
From ACM Careers
How a Pentagon Contract Became an Identity Crisis for Google
Fei-Fei Li is among the brightest stars in the burgeoning field of artificial intelligence, somehow managing to hold down two demanding jobs simultaneously: head of Stanford University's A.I. lab and chief scientist for A.I. …
From ACM News
How Spies Can se Your Cellphone to Find You, and Eavesdrop on Your Calls and Texts Too
Surveillance systems that track the locations of cellphone users and spy on their calls, texts and data streams are being turned against Americans as they roam the country and the world, say security experts and U.S. officials…
From ACM TechNews
Columbia Researchers Squeeze Light Into Nanoscale Devices
Researchers have created a "home-built" cryogenic near-field optical microscope that allowed them to directly image the propagation and dynamics of graphene plasmons.
From ACM TechNews
Autonomous Boats Could Service Some Cities, Reducing Road Traffic
Researchers have highly maneuverable autonomous boats that, in waterway-rich cities, could be used to transport people or deliver goods.
From ACM TechNews
How Technology Companies Alienate Women During Recruitment
The way technology companies recruit candidates during on-campus information sessions could play a role in dissuading women from such jobs, a new study has found.
From ACM TechNews
Brookings Survey Finds Worries Over AI Impact on Jobs and Personal Privacy, Concern .S. Will Fall Behind China
A new Brookings Institution survey has found Americans' concerns about artificial intelligence include job reduction, as well as threats to humanity and personal privacy.
From ACM TechNews
Ultrasound Firewall for Mobile Phones
The first ultrasound-firewall for mobile devices takes the form of a mobile application that detects acoustic cookies, brings them to the attention of users, and blocks the tracking if necessary.
From ACM TechNews
How to Get People to Pay Attention to Mobile Security Notifications
Researchers have confirmed that the more frequently users see security warnings on computers and phones, the more they ignore them.
From ACM News
ACM Elects Cherri Pancake President
ACM has elected Cherri M. Pancake as its president for a two-year term beginning July 1.
From ACM News
The Next Privacy Battle in Europe Is Over This New Law
The new European data privacy legislation is so stringent that it could kill off data-driven online services and chill innovations like driverless cars, tech industry groups warn.
From ACM News
China's Long March for the Soul of the Nation's Digital Future Faces an Ever-Shifting End Point
In China's quest for the soul of the nation's digital technology, Ni Guangnan and Cheng Xu are two of the foot soldiers of a two-decade march to develop an indigenous semiconductor processor and operating system, a journey where…
From ACM TechNews
Circuit, Heal Thyself!
A self-healing material that spontaneously repairs itself under extreme mechanical damage has been developed by Carnegie Mellon University researchers. Circuits produced with the material remain fully operational when damaged…
From ACM TechNews
Big Data, Networks Identify Cell Signaling Pathways in Lung Cancer
Scientists are using computational approaches and networks to analyze protein modifications caused by drugs currently in clinical trials to treat lung cancer.
From ACM TechNews
The Machines Have Taught Themselves to Make Mario Levels
Using an artificial intelligence technique, researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz discovered a way to create new levels of Super Mario Bros by analyzing an existing game level.
From ACM News
Take a Virtual Trip to a Strange New World with NASA
Are you looking for an exotic destination to visit this summer? Why not take a virtual trip to an Earth-size planet beyond our solar system with NASA's interactive Exoplanet Travel Bureau?
From ACM News
.S. News Outlets Block European Readers Over New Privacy Rules
American news outlets including The Chicago Tribune, The Los Angeles Times and The Arizona Daily Star abruptly blocked access to their websites from Europe on Friday, choosing to black out readers rather than comply with …
From ACM News
Making Massive Leaps in Electronics at Nano-Scale
The University of the Witwatersrand in South Africa has boosted the electrical conductivity of carbon nanotubes by binding gadolinium nanoparticles to them.
From ACM TechNews
sing Data Science to Tell Which of These People Is Lying
University of Rochester researchers are applying data science and an online crowdsourcing framework to read facial and verbal cues for signs of deception.
From ACM TechNews
Data-Driven Instruction: Top Trend in K-12 se of Ed-Tech, Teachers Say
A survey of 1,516 teachers found that three out of four say data-driven instruction is the top trend in how education technology is impacting their schools.
From ACM TechNews
Soft Machines
University of California, Santa Barbara researchers have developed electromagnetic actuators that are fast, low voltage, and soft.
From ACM TechNews
Govt. Promises Shot in the Arm for Quantum Tech Research in India
India's government has promised to bolster laboratory research into quantum mechanics and technology with funding from multiple government entities.
From ACM News
Making Driverless Cars Change Lanes More Like Human Drivers Do
A new algorithm developed by the MIT CSAIL could improve the way driverless vehicles change lanes. The algorithm allows for more aggressive lane changes and will compute new buffer zones on the fly with proof of collision avoidance…
From ACM News
The S Military Is Funding an Effort to Catch Deepfakes and Other AI Trickery
Think that AI will help put a stop to fake news? The US military isn't so sure.
From ACM Careers
Distracted Driver and Braking Error Cited in Autonomous ber Car's Fatal Crash
More than a second before a self-driving car operated by Uber struck and killed a pedestrian in March, the vehicle's computer system determined it needed to brake to avoid a crash.