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
Silicon Valley Must Stop U.N. from Regulating the Internet
The notion of the United Nations making the rules and governing the Internet should send shivers down the spine of anyone who uses a cell phone, laptop or search...
From ACM Opinion
Fcc Chief's Painstaking Approach Earns Mixed Reviews in Turbulent Times For Telecom Industry
When he isn't chairing the Federal Communications Commission, Julius Genachowski enjoys a seat at a poker table.
From ACM Opinion
Moral Machines
Google's driver-less cars are already street-legal in three states, California, Florida, and Nevada, and some day similar devices may not just be possible but mandatory...
From ACM Opinion
.s. Science Could Face Fiscal Cliff Doom
Scientific R&D stands to lose 31,000 jobs and face a starvation diet of reduced funding if politicians fail to halt march towards the fiscal cliff's sequestration...
From ACM Opinion
Smartphone Patent Wars Show the System Works, Patent Chief Says
David J. Kappos, director of the United States Patent and Trademark Office, is thoughtful, patient, even genial in interviews. But he was showing some pique in...
From ACM Opinion
Clear Need to Define Cyberweapons and Cyberwar
The term cyberwar has become a catch-all used by politicians, talking heads and others to encompass just about any online threat, regardless of the attacker or...
From ACM Opinion
China's Innovation Success Depends on Political Changes
Since 1978, the Chinese economy has seen phenomenal growth. While that’s not in dispute, the reason why China has managed to grow so fast and whether it can maintain...
From ACM Opinion
This Is Your Brain on Neural Implants
You are in the future with technologies more advanced than today's.
From ACM Opinion
Was Petraeus Borked?
In 1987, when Judge Robert Bork was enmeshed in a partisan struggle over his Supreme Court nomination, a reporter for an alternative weekly in Washington, D.C.,...
From ACM Opinion
The Greatest Bond Villain of All: Technology
Tech has always played a prominent role in the Bond franchise; it's a key element of the plot formula: Bond opens with a chase scene, the core mission is revealed...
From ACM Opinion
Physicist Elected to Congress Calls For More Scientists-Statesmen
Bill Foster, member-elect of the U.S. House of Representatives, wants more scientists in Congress who can bring to bear an analytical mind-set to lawmaking.
From ACM Opinion
Long Day For a Professor Who Puts Elections nder a Microscope
Monday afternoon, just half a day before the polls opened, Prof. Mark Crispin Miller was feeling pessimistic about the electoral process.
From ACM Opinion
A Sample Security Agenda For Obama's Second Term
When Barack Obama was sworn in four years ago for his first term, there was genuine optimism that he would make meaningful improvements to the security of the nation's...
From ACM Opinion
Inside the Secret World of the Data Crunchers Who Helped Obama Win
In late spring, the backroom number crunchers who powered Barack Obama's campaign to victory noticed that George Clooney had an almost gravitational tug on West...
From ACM Opinion
Wrath of the Math: Obama Wins Nerdiest Election Ever
Congratulations, Barack Obama: You have prevailed in the nerdiest election in the history of the American Republic.
From ACM Opinion
The Most Important Education Technology in 200 Years
If you were asked to name the most important innovation in transportation over the last 200 years, you might say the combustion engine, air travel, Henry Ford’s...
From ACM Opinion
Killing the Computer to Save It
Many people cite Albert Einstein's aphorism "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler." Only a handful, however, have had the opportunity...
From ACM Opinion
What Tumblr Can Tell S About the Future of Media
If there was any doubt left that Tumblr is trying to become more of a mainstream media entity, albeit with its own odd twist, it was removed recently when the service...
From ACM Opinion
Science Is the Key to Growth
Mitt Romney said in all three presidential debates that we need to expand the economy. But he left out a critical ingredient: investments in science and technology...
From ACM Opinion