Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
May 2023
From ACM News
Quantum Computers are All 'Terrible' — But Researchers Aren't Worried
Even the scientists who have made quantum computers their life's work say they can't do anything useful yet — but the future is bright. Plus, how China's data privacy laws affects researchers and LIGO is back, better than ever…
From ACM News
See Why AI Like ChatGPT Has Gotten So Good, So Fast
We asked three AI systems to generate content using the same prompt. The results illustrate how quickly the technology has advanced.
From ACM News
Everyone Wants to Regulate AI. No One Can Agree How
U.S. lawmakers and CEOs alike say new rules are needed to prevent artificial intelligence from doing harm. So far, there are more wish lists than laws.
From ACM News
A Hiring Law Blazes a Path for A.I. Regulation
New York City's pioneering, focused approach sets rules on how companies use the technology in workforce decisions.
From ACM News
Google's Photo App Still Can't Find Gorillas. And Neither Can Apple's
Eight years after a controversy over Black people being mislabeled as gorillas by image analysis software, tech giants still fear repeating the mistake.
From ACM TechNews
AI Poses 'Risk of Extinction,' Industry Leaders Warn
Industry leaders warned in an open letter that artificial intelligence technology might threaten humanity's existence.
From ACM TechNews
Super Low-Cost Smartphone Attachment Brings Blood Pressure Monitoring to Your Fingertips
An inexpensive plastic fingertip clip and custom smartphone app works with a smartphone's camera and flash to measure the user's blood pressure.
From ACM TechNews
AI-Threatened Jobs Are Mostly Held by Women, Study Shows
Research by human resources analytics firm Revelio Labs found that artificial intelligence disproportionately threatens jobs usually held by women.
From ACM TechNews
3-D Printing Strengthens Material for Energy and Propulsion Applications
A research team led by engineers at MIT developed a new 3D printing method for strengthening materials.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon to Let Baseball Fans Buy Beer by Scanning Palm
Amazon plans to launch contactless alcohol purchases at Coors Field in Denver, home of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball team, through its Amazon One touchless payment device.
From ACM News
The Security Hole at the Heart of ChatGPT and Bing
Indirect prompt-injection attacks can leave people vulnerable to scams and data theft when they use the AI chatbots.
From ACM TechNews
A Boost for the Quantum Internet
Researchers at Austria's University of Innsbruck transmitted quantum information with a quantum repeater node operating at telecommunication networks' standard frequency.
From ACM TechNews
Underwater Robot Deployed to Aid Endangered Right Whales Off Georgia Coast
Researchers deployed an underwater robot to listen for endangered North Atlantic right whales swimming near the Georgia port of Savannah.
From ACM TechNews
Ethereum Closes Security Hole with Energy-Saving Update
An update rolled out by the Ethereum cryptocurrency reduced the energy needed to produce it, and also fixed a security flaw.
From ACM News
Humanoid Robots Are Coming of Age
A few years ago, humanoid robots were clumsy and awkward. Now several startups claim to have models almost ready to go to work in warehouses and factories.
From ACM News
Toil and Trouble
Exascale computing power helps researchers understand bubble behavior that can handicap reactor technology designed to capture carbon dioxide emissions.
From ACM TechNews
Popular Android TV Boxes Sold on Amazon Are Laced with Malware
Security researchers found malware in popular Android-powered TV set-top boxes sold on Amazon.
From ACM TechNews
AI Catalyzes Gene Activation Research, Uncovers Rare DNA Sequences
The University of California, San Diego's James T. Kadonaga and colleagues used artificial intelligence to advance gene activation research by identifying "synthetic extreme" DNA sequences.
From ACM TechNews
Fruit-Picking Robot Eve Ready to Harvest Apples Commercially, as Shortage of Workers Persists
Australian startup Ripe Robotics spent four years developing its autonomous fruit-picking robot Eve, which is processing apples in orchards owned amid a labor shortage.
From ACM TechNews
Sound Vibrations Can Encode, Process Data Like Quantum Computers
University of Arizona researchers demonstrated that trapping sound in a simple mechanical device can imitate certain properties of quantum computers.
From ACM News
Researchers Say they Found Spyware Used in War for the First Time
Samvel Farmanyan, the former co-founder and host of an opposition television program in Armenia, told TechCrunch the hack he suffered "is a form of terror."
From ACM News
Volt Typhoon Targets U.S. Critical Infrastructure with Living-Off-The-Land Techniques
Microsoft continues to investigate Volt Typhoon's methods for gaining access to targeted organizations through Internet-facing Fortinet FortiGuard devices.
From ACM News
ChatGPT Maker OpenAI Calls for AI Regulation, Warning of 'Existential Risk'
The statement echoed the comments of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to Congress last week, where he testified to the need for a separate regulatory body.
From ACM News
Driver's Licenses, Addresses, Photos: Inside How TikTok Shares User Data
Employees of the Chinese-owned video app have regularly posted user information on a messaging and collaboration tool called Lark, according to internal documents.
From ACM News
Get Ready for Team America: AI Police
Biden Admin expands plan for 'responsible' ML research and seeks to drive international talks on making binary brainboxes behave.
From ACM News
AI Will Augment SEO
Adding artificial intelligence to search engines enables enhanced Search Engine Optimization and Marketing.
From ACM News
Adobe to Integrate AI into Photoshop amid Fears of Job Losses, Mass Faking of Images
Company says Adobe Firefly is a 'co-pilot' to graphic design, rather than a replacement for humans.
From ACM News
White House Unveils New Efforts to Guide Federally Backed Research of Artificial Intelligence
The U.S. government and private sector in recent months have begun more publicly weighing the possibilities and perils of artificial intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
Breakthrough in Computer Chip Energy Efficiency Could Cut Datacenter Electricity Use
Researchers at Oregon State (OSU) and Baylor universities have significantly cut the energy consumption of photonic chips used in datacenters and supercomputers.
From ACM TechNews
Software Update for World's Wind Farms Could Power Millions More Homes
A software upgrade developed by researchers at France's Polytechnic Institute of Paris improves the efficiency of wind turbines by ensuring they spend more time facing directly into the wind.