Communications of the ACM
The opinion archive provides access to past opinion stories from Communications of the ACM and other sources by date.
April 2021
From ACM Opinion
Vivienne Sze: Crossing the Hardware-Software Divide for Efficient AI
MIT Associate Professor Vivienne Sze discusses why we need low-power AI now, and more.
From ACM Opinion
Stop Talking About AI Ethics. It's Time to Talk About Power
AI scholar Kate Crawford explores the history of artificial intelligence and its impact on the physical world in her new book, Atlas of AI.
From ACM Opinion
How to Make the Most of Remote Tech Interviews
Mark Kinsella, vice president of engineering at Opendoor Technologies, provides tips on best practices for remote tech interviews.
From ACM Opinion
Why Cryptocurrency Is A Giant Fraud
Speculators might make money on cryptocurrency, but the arguments for its usefulness fail completely.
From ACM Opinion
Why Bitcoin Is Bad for the Environment
Cryptocurrency mining uses huge amounts of power — and can be as destructive as the real thing.
From ACM Opinion
Tech in the Post-Pandemic World
Assessing its future, both the bad and the good.
From ACM Opinion
Hackers Used to Be Humans. Soon, AIs Will Hack Humanity
To date, hacking has exclusively been a human activity. Not for long.
From ACM Opinion
Google Has A Plan To 'Fix' Online Privacy. Everybody Hates It
Google recently decided to adopt a new way to track users, and says it's more private than cookies and nearly as effective for advertising. The rest of the Internet pretty much hates it.
From ACM Opinion
Data Is Power
Data has become a critical source of power, yet remains largely ungoverned. Washington needs to craft new rules.
From ACM Opinion
Data Brokers Are a Threat to Democracy
The unregulated practice of data brokerage is incredibly dangerous and harmful, and policymakers can ignore it no longer.
From ACM Opinion
Intel's Melvin Greer: AI, Data Science a Growth Pillar
Melvin Greer, chief data scientist for the Americas, Intel Corp., discusses the importance of nontechnical skills and cross-domain expertise, ethical AI, and AI as "augmented intelligence."
From ACM Opinion
Turing Awardee Jeffrey Ullman on How He Got Involved with Computer Science
Jeffrey Ullman, co-recipient of the 2020 ACM A.M. Turing Award, discusses the imposter syndrome, running a Burroughs 5500, and using applications to address social problems.
From ACM Opinion
The Healing Power of Javascript
For some, code is therapy, an escape and a path to hope in a troubled world.
From ACM Opinion
A Computer Scientist Who Tackles Inequality Through Algorithms
Rediet Abebe uses the tools of theoretical computer science to understand pressing social problems — and try to fix them.
From Communications of the ACM
From Remote Work to Working From Anywhere
Tracing temporary work modifications resulting in permanent organizational changes.
From Communications of the ACM
Reflections on Black in Computing
Seeking to improve systemic fairness in the computing realm.
From Communications of the ACM
The Non-Psychopath's Guide to Managing an Open Source Project
Respect your staff, learn from others, and know when to let go.
From Communications of the ACM
When Hackers Were Heroes
The complex legacy of Steven Levy's obsessive programmers.
From Communications of the ACM
Roots of 'Program' Revisited
Considering the fundamental nature and malleability of programming.
From Communications of the ACM
Building a Multilingual Wikipedia
Seeking to develop a multilingual Wikipedia where content can be shared among language editions.