Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2018
From ACM News
Artificial Intelligence Nails Predictions of Earthquake Aftershocks
A machine-learning study that analysed hundreds of thousands of earthquakes beat the standard method at predicting the location of aftershocks.
From ACM TechNews
If Military Robot Falls, It Can Get Itself p
Researchers have developed software to ensure that if a military robot falls to the ground, it can right itself.
From ACM News
NASA's New Horizons Spacecraft Takes First Picture of Distant Rock It Will Visit
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft still has 100 million miles to go, but it has taken its first snapshot of the space rock that will be its date for New Year's Day 2019.
From ACM News
Is Genomic Privacy Possible?
Genomic research has led to remarkable insights and medical breakthroughs, but it also represents serious privacy risks.
From ACM News
Meet the Rose Hip Cell, a New Kind of Neuron
It's been more than a century since Spanish neuroanatomist Santiago Ramón y Cajal won the Nobel Prize for illustrating the way neurons allow you to walk, talk, think, and be.
From ACM News
AI-Human Partnerships Tackle 'Fake News'
During the 2016 U.S. presidential election, inaccurate and misleading articles burned through social networks.
From ACM News
How AI Can Be a Force for Good
For the well-being of humanity, it is crucial that the power of artificial intelligence is used as a force of good.
From ACM TechNews
TSA Enters Guinness World Records With Smallest Medical Robot
Guinness World Records has recognized the University of Texas at San Antonio for creating the world's smallest medical robot.
From ACM TechNews
niversity of Illinois Researchers Develop Method to Cancel Noise Without Ear-Blocking Headphones
The University of Illinois' Coordinated Science Laboratory has developed a noise-cancelling technique that does not require ear canal-blocking headphones.
From ACM TechNews
AI Can Predict If Your Musical Taste Is More Ice T...or Vanilla Ice
Researchers have developed a system that uses machine learning algorithms and psychological models to infer a person's "musical sophistication."
From ACM TechNews
Control System Simulator Helps Operators Learn to Fight Hackers
Researchers at the Georgia Institute of Technology have developed a simulator that helps to secure industrial control systems against hackers.
From ACM News
Franken-algorithms: The Deadly Consequences of npredictable Code
The death of a woman hit by a self-driving car highlights an unfolding technological crisis, as code piled on code creates 'a universe no one fully understands'.
From ACM News
Blockchaining the Arts
Blockchain's undeletable data can address privacy and security issues in the fine art markets.
From ACM News
Here's What We Know about Google's Mysterious Search Engine
President Trump thinks Google's search engine is "rigged." By featuring more mainstream news outlets and relatively fewer conservative sites in the results he sees, Trump tweeted Tuesday, Google is "suppressing" right-wing views…
From ACM News
Researchers Find Way to Spy on Remote Screens, through the Webcam Mic
Ever wonder what the people on the other end of a Hangouts session are really looking at on their screens?
From ACM TechNews
These Friendly Helpful Robots Will Likely Be Your Future Rehabilitation Partners
A study by researchers at Freiburg University in Germany concluded that socially assistive robots will be used increasingly in the future.
From ACM TechNews
Bots, Russian Trolls Influenced Vaccine Discussion on Twitter
Social media bots and Russian trolls spread discord and misinformation about vaccines on Twitter.
From ACM TechNews
Female, Minority Students Took AP Computer Science in Record Numbers
Participation by female, African-American, and Latino students in Advanced Placement computer science courses boomed this year.
From ACM TechNews
Robotic Guide Dog Leads Arizona State niversity Team to 1st Prize at Intel Cup
Arizona State University students' robotic guide dog received first prize at the 2018 Intel Cup Undergraduate Electronic Design Contest in Shanghai, China.
From ACM TechNews
Lip-Syncing Thanks to Artificial Intelligence
A new system uses artificial intelligence to edit the facial expressions of actors in a film to accurately match dubbed voices.
From ACM TechNews
STEM Worker Shortage at a Crisis, Survey Shows
Forty percent of Americans say the U.S. science, technology, engineering, and math worker shortage is at a crisis level.
From ACM News
The World’s Oldest Blockchain Has Been Hiding in The New York Times since 1995
This really gives a new meaning to the "paper of record."
From ACM News
How Trump Could Hurt Google
President Donald Trump's Tuesday morning attack on Google for delivering "rigged" search results met with a swift denial from the company, but Trump's threat to address the "suppressing" of conservative voices might not be so…
From ACM News
Scientists Hope Artificial Stupidity Could Save Humans
Some scientists are suggesting limiting how smart artificial intelligence can get—all the way down to human intelligence.
From ACM TechNews
An Avatar ses Your Gait to Predict How Many Calories You Will Burn
Researchers analyzed gait parameters to develop software that uses an avatar to predict how many calories people will expend when walking.
From ACM TechNews
Soft Bioelectronic Mesh Tested on Human Wrist, Pig's Heart
A new wearable/implantable device measures electrophysiological signals and applies electrical and thermal stimulations as needed.
From ACM TechNews
Facebook, NY Aim to se AI to Speed p MRI Scans
Facebook's artificial intelligence laboratory, working with the New York University School of Medicine, generated reliable magnetic resonance imaging scans with less data.
From ACM News
Growing a Mind in a Machine
MIT's Josh Tenenbaum on how people think and learn, and how to make machines do likewise.
From ACM Opinion
Trump Says He Will 'Address' Google's 'Suppressing' of Conservative News
On Tuesday morning, the 45th president of the United States woke up around 5:30am Eastern Time and decided to begin his Tuesday by berating the "Fake News Media," claiming that Google was somehow "rigged" so that "all stories…
From ACM News
Artificial Intelligence Is Now a Pentagon Priority. Will Silicon Valley Help?
In a May memo to President Trump, Defense Secretary Jim Mattis implored him to create a national strategy for artificial intelligence.