Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2020
From ACM News
Autonomous Plane Takes Off with Passengers, Cargo
Pilotless planes are here, and the FAA is getting onboard for short-distance regional transportation.
From ACM News
How Close Are Computers to Automating Mathematical Reasoning?
AI tools are shaping next-generation theorem provers, and with them the relationship between math and machine.
From ACM TechNews
Robot Boats Leave Autonomous Cars in Their Wake
U.K. ocean-research nonprofit Promare will launch an autonomous boat next spring to retrace the trans-Atlantic journey of the Mayflower.
From ACM TechNews
Windows Computers Targets of 83% of Malware Attacks in Q1
Microsoft Windows and Android security evaluator AV Test's 2019/2020 Security Report found malware targeting Windows computers constituted 83.45% of all malware attacks in the first quarter of this year.
From ACM TechNews
QUT Algorithm Could Quash Twitter Abuse of Women
An algorithm developed at the Queensland University of Technology in Australia can identify misogynistic content on Twitter with 75% accuracy.
From ACM TechNews
Parking Technology Aims to Manage Curb Space Virtually
Washington, D.C., is the first U.S. city to test a system that transmits real-time information about curbside parking availability and space size to delivery drivers.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Keeps Baltimore in Touch with Seniors Through Hurricanes, Pandemic
Baltimore health officials are using a new computer system created by volunteer programmers to keep in touch with senior living facilities during crises like hurricanes and the current pandemic.
From ACM TechNews
Elon Musk Demonstrates Brain-Computer Tech Neuralink in Live Pigs
Elon Musk's brain-machine interface company, Neuralink, on Friday performed a live demonstration of a wireless interface in three pigs, allowing the animals' neural signals to be visualized in real time.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon Launches Grocery Store with 'Smart' Shopping Carts, Alexa Guides
Amazon on Thursday opened its first Fresh grocery store in the Woodland Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, featuring no checkout lines, smart shopping carts, and Alexa virtual assistant-powered guides.
From ACM TechNews
Japanese Town to Test Autonomous Amphibious Bus
The Japanese town of Naganohara will test a consortium's autonomous amphibious bus in a trial beginning in December and running through March 2021.
From ACM TechNews
Army of a Million Microscopic Robots Created to Explore on Tiny Scale
University of Pennsylvania researchers have developed microscopic robots that move by themselves, using an actuator fashioned from a thin layer of platinum.
From ACM TechNews
Mockapetris Receives ACM Software System Award
ACM has named Paul Mockapetris to receive the 2019 ACM Software System Award for his development of the Domain Name System.
From ACM TechNews
F-16 Pilot Took on AI in a Dogfight. Here's Who Won
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency recently hosted virtual "AlphaDogFight Trials," in which an artificial intelligence program easily beat a U.S. Air Force officer in a simulated dogfight.
From ACM News
A Science Is Born
The "yeasty" times" when computer research grew at Harvard University, five decades ago.
From ACM News
NSA and Cyber Command chief pledges muscular defense of November election
The preparations include sharing information with the Department of Homeland Security to help harden election systems against hacking, and with the FBI to help shut down disinformation operations.
From ACM TechNews
Argonne Scientists Use AI to Strengthen Power Grid Resiliency
Scientists at the U.S. Department of Energy's Argonne National Laboratory have created a new artificial intelligence technique that can help operators understand how to better handle power systems. T
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Develop Detection Method to Protect Army Networks
U.S. Army researchers have developed a novel algorithm which, they say, can protect networks by detecting suspicious activity missed by current analytical methods.
From ACM TechNews
Michigan Plans Dedicated Road Lanes for Autonomous Vehicles
The state of Michigan and private partners are planning to build or assign dedicated lanes for autonomous vehicles on a 40-mile section of highway between Detroit and Ann Arbor.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon's Cloud Unit to Offer Quantum Computing From Three Tech Companies
Amazon's cloud unit announced a commercial service allowing millions of customers to tinker with early-stage quantum computing platforms from D-Wave System, IonQ, and Rigetti Computing.
From ACM News
The Lesson We’re Learning From TikTok? It’s All About Our Data
We should minimize how much we share with all of our favorite and not-so-favorite apps.
From ACM News
Why Did We Go Digital?
Princeton University's Ken Steiglitz feels an attachment to the analog.
From ACM News
Cosmic Rays May Soon Stymie Quantum Computing
Background radiation that is emitted by trace elements in concrete walls and incoming cosmic rays may be enough to cause decoherence in qubits.
From ACM News
Challenge to Scientists: Does Your Ten-Year-Old Code Still Run?
Missing documentation and obsolete environments force participants in the Ten Years Reproducibility Challenge to get creative.
From ACM News
Machines can Spot Mental Health Issues—If you Hand Over your Personal Data
Digital diagnosis could transform psychiatry by mining your most intimate data for clues. But is the privacy cost worth it?
From ACM TechNews
U.S. Army Robo-Teammate Can Detect, Share 3D Changes in Real Time
U.S. Army researchers have shown that robots equipped with LiDAR can detect physical changes in their environment, and share that information in real time via augmented reality eyewear.
From ACM TechNews
Do Cloth Masks Work? Supercomputer Fugaku Says Yes
Japan's Fugaku supercomputer, the world's fastest, was used to determine that nonwoven fabric masks block virus-laden respiratory droplets more effectively than cotton or polyester masks.
From ACM TechNews
Elephants vs Trains: AI Helps Ensure They Don't Collide
Researchers have developed a "smart ear" to help prevent fatal collisions involving elephants and trains in India.
From ACM TechNews
Predicting the Lifespan of an App
Northwestern Polytechnical University researchers have developed a model for predicting the lifespan of an app.
From ACM News
Visa Unveils More Powerful AI Tool That Approves or Denies Card Transactions
The deep-learning application makes more accurate decisions on behalf of banks experiencing network disruptions, Visa says.
From ACM News
A Dogfight Renews Concerns About AI's Lethal Potential
Alphabet's DeepMind pioneered reinforcement learning. A California company used it to create an algorithm that defeated an F-16 pilot in a simulation.