acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Articles


Articles Interviews Vardi's Insights Chien's Vantage Opinion Archive Refine your search:
subjectComputers And Society
authorScientific American
bg-corner

The Question Medical AI Can't Answer
From ACM Opinion

The Question Medical AI Can't Answer

It's unable to tell us why it came to a particular decision—and that's crucial information

If You Say 'Science Is Right,' You're Wrong
From ACM Opinion

If You Say 'Science Is Right,' You're Wrong

It can't supply absolute truths about the world, but it brings us steadily closer.

The U.S. Needs a National Strategic Computing Reserve
From ACM Opinion

The U.S. Needs a National Strategic Computing Reserve

One year after supercomputers worked together to fight COVID-19, it's time to broaden the partnership to prepare for other crises.

Don't Regulate Artificial Intelligence: Starve It
From ACM Opinion

Don't Regulate Artificial Intelligence: Starve It

The potential dangers of artificial intelligence are great enough to required great care about how powerful we allow it to become.

STEM Education Needs a Course Correction
From ACM Opinion

STEM Education Needs a Course Correction

Technical training today should not be solely in the business of making better coders but of making better people who will be able to cultivate the future.

Virtual Reality Has An Accessibility Problem
From ACM Opinion

Virtual Reality Has An Accessibility Problem

Virtual reality has been touted as an "empathy machine" that lets users see what it's like to have a disability—but people with disabilities often can't use it....

AI Isn't a Solution to All Our Problems
From ACM Opinion

AI Isn't a Solution to All Our Problems

It's simply a tool—and hardly a perfect one

Don't Kill Innovation With Excessive Regulation
From ACM Opinion

Don't Kill Innovation With Excessive Regulation

California's new law forcing ride-sharing companies to treat their drivers as employees could harm or kill an important new business model.

Don't Fear the Terminator
From ACM Opinion

Don't Fear the Terminator

The fear that artificial intelligence machines could become our overlords — or perhaps wipe us out altogether — reflects a misunderstanding of AI.

How STEM Education Must Evolve
From ACM Opinion

How STEM Education Must Evolve

STEM curricula must be enhanced so graduates have a deeper understanding of how their work affects humanity.

Where Are All the Working Mothers in STEM?
From ACM Opinion

Where Are All the Working Mothers in STEM?

Parenthood is a key driver of gender imbalance in STEM. Almost half of all women in full-time science jobs leave or go part-time after the birth of their first...

Are We Really the Smartest Kid on the Cosmic Block?
From ACM Opinion

Are We Really the Smartest Kid on the Cosmic Block?

It is unclear how many intelligent civilizations have arisen in the Milky Way galaxy so far, but if some have, a pressing question comes to mind: Were they or are...

Don't Let Robots Pull the Trigger
From ACM Opinion

Don't Let Robots Pull the Trigger

The killer machines are coming. Robotic weapons that target and destroy without human supervision are poised to start a revolution in warfare comparable to the...

AI's Big Challenge
From ACM Opinion

AI's Big Challenge

The recently signed executive order establishing the American AI Initiative correctly identifies artificial intelligence as central to American competitiveness...

Electronic Contracts and the Illusion of Consent
From ACM Opinion

Electronic Contracts and the Illusion of Consent

Q: What do you do when you see a little button on a webpage or app screen that says I agree?

Is the ­.S. Lagging in the Quest for Quantum Computing?
From ACM Opinion

Is the ­.S. Lagging in the Quest for Quantum Computing?

A quantum computer capable of breaking the strongest codes protecting online communications and computer data is highly unlikely to appear within the next decade...

Clicks, Lies and Videotape
From ACM Opinion

Clicks, Lies and Videotape

This past April a new video of Barack Obama surfaced on the Internet. Against a backdrop that included both the American and presidential flags, it looked like...

Will L.A.'s Anti-Terrorist Subway Scanners Be Adopted Everywhere?
From ACM Opinion

Will L.A.'s Anti-Terrorist Subway Scanners Be Adopted Everywhere?

In mid-August the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority and the Transportation Security Administration announced Metro has paid $100,000 each...

What Worries People about Future Science and Tech Innovations?
From ACM Opinion

What Worries People about Future Science and Tech Innovations?

Many Americans see the future crowding into the present and some of the innovations ahead unnerve them, especially as they reshape ideas about human dominion.

Are We Ready for the Future of Warfare?
From ACM Opinion

Are We Ready for the Future of Warfare?

Warfare has always been about exerting political will.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account