Communications of the ACM
Innovation Is Overrated: A Provocation
Digital innovation is not working in the interest of the whole of society. It is time to radically rethink its purpose without…
From ACM Opinion
Why We Must Fight For the Internet's Freedom
The Internet empowers each one of us to speak, create, learn, and share.
From ACM Opinion
How Steve Jobs' Legacy Has Changed
When Apple co-founder Steve Jobs succumbed to cancer in his California home a year ago today, the world rushed to eulogize him in glowing terms: Genius. Visionary...
From ACM Opinion
How Smartphones Make S Superhuman
Both men lit themselves on fire in protest. But only one of them is credited with starting a revolution.
From ACM Opinion
Why I Love Mars
Every now and then, I spend time on Mars. I dig my naked toes into the fine, red-orange soil, watch how it clings to my skin—and feel an incipient itch.
From ACM Opinion
A National Id Card that Protects Voting Rights
In December, the U.S. Department of Justice intervened under the Voting Rights Act to stay a South Carolina voter ID law.
From ACM Opinion
Google Knows Too Much About You
If you use Google, and I know you do, you may have noticed a little banner popping up at the top of the page announcing: "We're changing our privacy policy and...
From ACM Opinion
Why 2012, Despite Privacy Fears, Isn't Like Orwell's 1984
Last week was a remarkable one for the Web: A week that proved George Orwell's "Nineteen Eighty-Four" incredibly prescient yet woefully incorrect.
From ACM Opinion
I Want to Translate the Web
I want to translate the Web into every major language: every Webpage, every video, and, yes, even Justin Bieber's tweets.
From ACM Opinion
Space Elevators and Smart Machines: Life in the Year 2100
In my book, Physics of the Future, I make scores of predictions for this century, based on interviews with over 300 of the world's top scientists, who are inventing...
From ACM Opinion
The Scary Prospect of Global Drone Warfare
Drone technology is spreading rapidly. As many as 50 countries are developing or purchasing these systems, including China, Russia, India, Pakistan, and Iran. Even...
From ACM News
Meet Dark Tangent, the Hacker Behind Black Hat and Def Con
The word "hacker" evokes all kinds of scary images. But Jeff Moss says hackers are exactly what the world needs more of, because they can make the Internet safer...
From ACM News
How Google Is Teaching Computers to See
Computers used to be blind, and now they can see. Thanks to increasingly sophisticated algorithms, computers today can recognize and identify the Eiffel Tower...
From ACM Opinion
When Will Sci-Fi Tech Become Real? Sooner Than You Think
Growing up, physicist Michio Kaku had two heroes. The first, predictably enough for the man who co-founded a branch of string theory, was Albert Einstein. "Second...
From ACM Opinion
Ftc 'do Not Track' Plan Would Be a Google Killer
The Federal Trade Commission proposed this week that consumers should have a "do not track" option for the Internet, similar to the "do not call" list that exists...
From ACM Opinion
Five Things that Could Topple Facebook's Empire
Facebook is primed to announce this week that it's amassed a half billion active friends, a milestone reinforcing its status as the king of social networks—a company...
From ACM Opinion
Threat of 'cyberwar' Has Been Hugely Hyped
There's a power struggle going on in the U.S. government right now. It's about who is in charge of cyber security, and how much control the government will exert...
From ACM Opinion
So, How Real Are Robots?
Robots can do all kinds of tasks, from folding clothes to fighting wars. But a professor says we should consider the ethics of unleashing robots.
From ACM Opinion
So, How Real Are Robots?
Robots can do all kinds of tasks, from folding clothes to fighting wars. But a professor says we should consider the ethics of unleashing robots.
From ACM Opinion
.s. Enables Chinese Hacking of Google
Google made headlines when it went public with the fact that Chinese hackers had penetrated some of its services, such as Gmail, in a politically motivated attempt...
From ACM Opinion
Is Aviation Security Mostly For Show?
Last week's attempted terror attack on an airplane heading from Amsterdam to Detroit has given rise to a bunch of familiar questions. How did the explosives get...12