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What Are These 'Levels' of Autonomous Vehicles?
From ACM Opinion

What Are These 'Levels' of Autonomous Vehicles?

As automated and autonomous vehicles become more common on U.S. roads, it's worth a look at what these machines can—and can't—do.

Can Artificial Intelligence Help Find Alien Intelligence?
From ACM Opinion

Can Artificial Intelligence Help Find Alien Intelligence?

In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), we've often looked for signs of intelligence, technology and communication that are similar to our own. ...

The Next Big Discovery in Astronomy? Scientists Probably Found It Years Ago, But They Don't Know It Yet
From ACM Opinion

The Next Big Discovery in Astronomy? Scientists Probably Found It Years Ago, But They Don't Know It Yet

Earlier this year, astronomers stumbled upon a fascinating finding: Thousands of black holes likely exist near the center of our galaxy.

Nazis Pressed Ham Radio Hobbyists to Serve the Third Reich, but Surviving Came at a Price
From ACM Opinion

Nazis Pressed Ham Radio Hobbyists to Serve the Third Reich, but Surviving Came at a Price

When people have free and unfettered choices of activities, they both entertain and express themselves through their pastimes—whether stamp or coin collecting,...

It's Not My Fault, My Brain Implant Made Me Do It
From ACM Opinion

It's Not My Fault, My Brain Implant Made Me Do It

Mr. B loves Johnny Cash, except when he doesn't. Mr. X has watched his doctors morph into Italian chefs right before his eyes.

How Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Targeting Model Really Worked, According to the Person Who Built It
From ACM Opinion

How Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Targeting Model Really Worked, According to the Person Who Built It

The researcher whose work is at the center of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data analysis and political advertising uproar has revealed that his method worked...

Ready Player One: We Are Surprisingly Close to Realizing Just Such a VR Dystopia
From ACM Opinion

Ready Player One: We Are Surprisingly Close to Realizing Just Such a VR Dystopia

I was fortunate enough to catch a preview screening of Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Ernest Cline's futuristic novel.

Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Legitimate Researchers ­sing Facebook Data Could Be Collateral Damage
From ACM Opinion

Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Legitimate Researchers ­sing Facebook Data Could Be Collateral Damage

The scandal that has erupted around Cambridge Analytica's alleged harvesting of 50m Facebook profiles assembled from data provided by a UK-based academic and his...

­sing Blockchain to Secure the 'Internet of Things'
From ACM Opinion

­sing Blockchain to Secure the 'Internet of Things'

The world is full of connected devices—and more are coming. In 2017, there were an estimated 8.4 billion internet-enabled thermostats, cameras, streetlights and...

Bioengineers Today Emphasize the Crucial Ingredient Dr. Frankenstein Forgot: Responsibility 
From ACM Opinion

Bioengineers Today Emphasize the Crucial Ingredient Dr. Frankenstein Forgot: Responsibility 

Mary Shelley was 20 when she published "Frankenstein" in 1818. Two hundred years on, the book remains thrilling, challenging and relevant—especially for scientists...

Your Mobile Phone Can Give Away Your Location, Even If You Tell It Not to
From ACM Opinion

Your Mobile Phone Can Give Away Your Location, Even If You Tell It Not to

U.S. military officials were recently caught off guard by revelations that servicemembers' digital fitness trackers were storing the locations of their workouts—including...

Trust in Digital Technology Will Be the Internet's Next Frontier, For 2018 and Beyond
From ACM Opinion

Trust in Digital Technology Will Be the Internet's Next Frontier, For 2018 and Beyond

After decades of unbridled enthusiasm—bordering on addiction—about all things digital, the public may be losing trust in technology.

Could Intelligent Machines of the Future Own the Rights to Their Own creations?
From ACM Opinion

Could Intelligent Machines of the Future Own the Rights to Their Own creations?

Intellectual property may be the legal term for creations, including literary or artistic, but there is something inherently human about it as well. 

Real Security Requires Strong Encryption–even If Investigators Get Blocked
From ACM Opinion

Real Security Requires Strong Encryption–even If Investigators Get Blocked

The FBI and the U.S. Department of Justice have been fighting against easy, widespread public access to encryption technologies for 25 years.

How the Chinese Cyberthreat Has evolved
From ACM Opinion

How the Chinese Cyberthreat Has evolved

With more than half of its 1.4 billion people online, the world's most populous country is home to a slew of cyberspies and hackers.

The Only Safe Email Is text-Only email
From ACM Opinion

The Only Safe Email Is text-Only email

It's troubling to think that at any moment you might open an email that looks like it comes from your employer, a relative or your bank, only to fall for a ...

How Quantum Mechanics Can Change computing
From ACM Opinion

How Quantum Mechanics Can Change computing

In early July, Google announced that it will expand its commercially available cloud computing services to include quantum computing.

Tracing the Sources of Today's Russian cyberthreat
From ACM Opinion

Tracing the Sources of Today's Russian cyberthreat

Beyond carrying all of our phone, text and internet communications, cyberspace is an active battleground, with cybercriminals, government agents and even military...

End-to-End Encryption Isn't Enough Security For 'real people'
From ACM Opinion

End-to-End Encryption Isn't Enough Security For 'real people'

Government officials continue to seek technology companies' help fighting terrorism and crime. But the most commonly proposed solution would severely limit regular...

Editing Human Embryos with Crispr Is Moving Ahead; Now's the Time to Work Out the Ethics
From ACM Opinion

Editing Human Embryos with Crispr Is Moving Ahead; Now's the Time to Work Out the Ethics

The announcement by researchers in Portland, Oregon that they've successfully modified the genetic material of a human embryo took some people by surprise.
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