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
It's Been 20 Years Since This Man Declared Cyberspace Independence
When digital dystopians and critics of Internet libertarians need a rhetorical dart board, they often pull out a document written by John Perry Barlow, co-founder...
From ACM Opinion
AI Is Transforming Google Search. The Rest of the Web Is Next
Yesterday, the 46-year-old Google veteran who oversees its search engine, Amit Singhal, announced his retirement. And in short order, Google revealed that Singhal's...
From ACM Opinion
Proposed State Bans on Phone Encryption Make Zero Sense
American politics has long accepted the strange notion that just a pair of states—namely Iowa and New Hampshire—get an outsize vote in choosing America’s next president...
From ACM Opinion
To Make AI More Human, Teach It to Chitchat
Tom was discussing the film star Tang Wei with a chatbot named XiaoIce, and the bot was excited: "A goddess! She stole my heart … and then went off and married!"...
From ACM Opinion
Security's Biggest Winners and Losers in 2015
This year, lawmakers surprised us by taking initial steps—albeit, baby ones—to rein in some of the NSA's mass spying and provide better oversight of the intelligence...
From ACM Opinion
Huge MIT Media Lab Inventions That Transformed Our World
For the last 30 years, the MIT Lab has been a breeding ground for technological progress that’s pushed the world into the future.
From ACM Opinion
How to Baffle Web Trackers By Obfuscating Your Movements Online
Online ad networks and search engines love it when you surf around.
From ACM Opinion
Tech Companies Can Blame Snowden For Data Privacy Decision
A ruling the Europe Union’s highest court yesterday may create enormous headaches for US tech companies like Google and Facebook.
From ACM Opinion
Apple's 3d Touch Is the Start of a New Interface Revolution
If you want to understand the potential of 3D Touch, the new of method of tapping and pressing on the screens of the latest iPhones, forget about the marketing...
From ACM Opinion
We're on the Brink of a Revolution in Crazy-Smart Digital Assistants
Here's a quick story you’ve probably heard before, followed by one you probably haven't.
From ACM Opinion
You Can't nderstand Security Without These Classic Works
There are seminal books, movies, articles, and more that you've been meaning to get to but just haven't made the time for.
From ACM Opinion
The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey
The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey" documents in nearly scientific detail exactly that: the story of how the iconic science-fiction film came...
From ACM Opinion
Why I'm Addicted to Browsing Sepia Photos of Old-School Nyc
It's not a game or social media site, but OldNYC.org is as addictive as Angry Birds and as time consuming as Facebook.
From ACM News
Leap Motion's Augmented-Reality Computing Looks Stupid Cool
We have a habit of filling new technologies with old ideas.
From ACM News
Google's Search pdated Will Remake the Web in Its Own Image
Some people are calling it Mobilegeddon.
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Doesn't Need to Spy on Your Calls to Learn Your Secrets
Governments and corporations gather, store, and analyze the tremendous amount of data we chuff out as we move through our digitized lives.
From ACM Opinion
Why We Should Design Some Things to Be Difficult to se
The first car I ever drove was a bashed Land Rover Defender.
From ACM Opinion
FCC Chairman Tom Wheeler: This Is How We Will Ensure Net Neutrality
After more than a decade of debate and a record-setting proceeding that attracted nearly 4 million public comments, the time to settle the Net Neutrality question...
From ACM Opinion
In the Future, Your Touchscreens Will Touch You Back
You comfort your grieving friend online over chat, but you can't reach out and touch their shoulder.
From ACM Opinion