Communications of the ACM
The news archive provides access to past news stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
August 2022
From ACM TechNews
Streetlight Wi-Fi Hotspots: A Bright Idea
A new algorithm could help telecommunication companies determine the optimal deployment of Wi-Fi hotspots in streetlights.
From ACM TechNews
From Bus Routes to Gutters, Tech-Savvy Youth Map Mali's Capital
Volunteers are collecting data on the infrastructure in Mali's capital, Bamako, including its public minibus routes, household waste collection points, basic social services, and roadside drains.
From ACM TechNews
French Tax Officials Use AI to Spot 20,000 Undeclared Pools
French tax officials used artificial intelligence to identify over 20,0000 undeclared private swimming pools, constituting about €10 million (over $10 million) in tax receipts.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Bring Underwater Messaging App to Smartphones
The AquaApp mobile interface developed by University of Washington (UW) researchers facilitates underwater messaging using acoustic signals.
From ACM News
Sweeping Children's Online Safety Bill Is Passed in California
The new rules, which would require many online services to increase protections for children, could change how popular social media and game platforms treat minors.
From ACM TechNews
'Pre-Bunking' Shows Promise in Fight Against Misinformation
Researchers have found that "pre-bunking" is a simple, promising method to prevent misinformation.
From ACM TechNews
Earthquakes Seem to Come in a More Predictable Pattern Than We Thought
A machine learning model developed by researchers at the University of California, Davis can analyze decades of earthquake data to predict future earthquakes.
From ACM TechNews
NFTs Increasingly Targeted by Criminals
Blockchain analytics firm Elliptic warned criminals are increasingly targeting nonfungible tokens (NFTs).
From ACM News
Did My Cat Just Hit On Me? An Adventure in Pet Translation
Entrepreneurs are aiming to put A.I.-powered pet translation tools into our pockets.
From ACM News
The Animal Translators
Scientists are using machine learning to eavesdrop on naked mole rats, fruit bats, crows, and whales—and to communicate back.
From ACM News
Protecting Children's Privacy Online
Assuring youngsters they can use websites without giving away their personal information is not child's play.
From ACM News
Xi Jinping's Vision for Tech Self-Reliance in China Runs Into Reality
After heavy national investment in semiconductors to break a dependence on global chips, Xi seems unhappy with the results.
From ACM News
One Man's Dream of Fusing A.I. With Common Sense
Artificial intelligence systems can process vast amounts of data in seconds, but they can't make sense of the world or explain their decisions. David Ferrucci wants to change that.
From ACM TechNews
NASA Mission Carrying Voice Assistant Tech to the Moon
The U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Artemis 1 mission will carry an Alexa-enabled voice assistant called Callisto into lunar orbit.
From ACM TechNews
Voting Machine Tampering Points to Concern for Fall Election
U.S. election officials and security experts are concerned that conspiracy theories related to the 2020 presidential election could encourage interference with this fall’s elections.
From ACM TechNews
LastPass, Password Manager with Millions of Users, Is Hacked
On Aug. 25, online password manager LastPass reported the theft of some of its source code and proprietary information.
From ACM News
China's Baidu Unveils 10-Qubit Quantum Computer
Baidu claims it's the world's first hardware-software integrated quantum computer, and it's already available to use.
From ACM TechNews
White House Pushes Journals to Drop Paywalls on Publicly Funded Research
The White House has directed academic journals to provide immediate access to research that is publicly funded.
From ACM TechNews
Computer Runs Calculations Depending on How You Squish It
Pennsylvania State University researchers built a soft computer from rows of rubber blocks that performs different calculations based on how it is squished.
From ACM TechNews
5G Networks Are Worryingly Hackable
German security researchers determined 5G networks can be hacked, having breached and hijacked live networks in a series of "red teaming" exercises.
From ACM News
Remote Scan of Student's Room Before Test Violated His Privacy, Judge Rules
A federal judge said Cleveland State University violated the Fourth Amendment when it used software to scan a student's bedroom.
From ACM TechNews
Amazon Keeps Growing, and So Does Its Cache of Data on You
Amazon is expanding its reach into the healthcare and smart home industries through its acquisition of a primary care company and a merger with iRobot.
From ACM TechNews
Researchers Design Inks for 3D-Printable Wearable Bioelectronics
A newly developed class of biomaterial inks exhibit the same characteristics as highly conductive human tissue like skin.
From ACM TechNews
Crash-Defying Quadcopter Lands on Rooftops Pitched at Up to 60 Degrees
Mechanical engineers at Canada's University of Sherbrooke developed landing technology for quadcopter drones that enables them to land on inclined surfaces.
From ACM TechNews
Technology Can Improve Buildings for People with Dementia
The Plan-EAT tool for assessing buildings combined with spatial analysis can improve the design of aged care facilities for people with dementia.
From ACM News
'Quantum-Safe' Crypto Hacked by 10-Year-Old PC
Many challenges still lie ahead for post-quantum cryptography.
From ACM News
AI In Your Ears
Binaural learning enhances speech while minimizing noise.
From ACM News
Facebook, Twitter, Others Remove Pro-U.S. Influence Campaign
It was the first time that an influence operation promoting U.S. interests abroad had been discovered and taken down from the social media platforms.
From ACM News
Google Finds 'Inoculating' People Against Misinformation Helps Blunt Its Power
British researchers and a team from Google found that teaching people how to spot misinformation made people more skeptical of it.
From ACM News
The Low Threshold for Face Recognition in New Delhi
Police in India's capital say they only require an 80% accuracy rate for matches, raising new alarm bells for civil liberty advocates.