Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From ACM Opinion
Would You Buy a Self-Driving Future From These Guys?
When the owner of an automated Tesla was killed in a crash last year, the carmaker's founder, Elon Musk, urged journalists to peer into the future.
From ACM Opinion
Facebook's Belated Awakening
Chastened by criticism that Facebook had turned a blind eye to Russia's manipulation of the social network to interfere in the 2016 election, the company's executives...
From ACM Opinion
Facebook's Ad Scandal Isn't a 'fail,' It's a Feature
What does it take to advertise on Facebook to people who openly call themselves "Jew haters" and want to know "how to burn Jews"? About $10 and 15 minutes, according...
From ACM Opinion
Cassini Vanishes Into Saturn, Its Mission Celebrated and Mourned
NASA&'s Cassini spacecraft, the intrepid robotic explorer of Saturn's magnificent beauty, ended a journey of 20 years on Friday like a shooting star streaking across...
From ACM Opinion
These Are Not the Robots We Were Promised
From the moment we humans first imagined having mechanical servants at our beck and call, we've assumed they would be constructed in our own image.
From ACM Opinion
A Reverie For the Voyager Probes, Humanity's Calling Cards
In the shadow, one might say, of the Great American Eclipse, a major anniversary in the history of space exploration—and indeed cosmic consciousness—is being celebrated...
From ACM Opinion
A Hunt For Ways to Combat Online Radicalization
Law enforcement officials, technology companies and lawmakers have long tried to limit what they call the "radicalization" of young people over the internet.
From ACM Opinion
Greetings, E.t. (please Don't Murder s.)
On Nov. 16, 1974, a few hundred astronomers, government officials and other dignitaries gathered in the tropical forests of Puerto Rico's northwest interior, a...
From ACM Opinion
Please Prove You're Not a Robot
When science fiction writers first imagined robot invasions, the idea was that bots would become smart and powerful enough to take over the world by force, whether...
From ACM Opinion
The Real Threat of Artificial Intelligence
What worries you about the coming world of artificial intelligence?
From ACM Opinion
The Iphone Is 10 Years Old. Here's the Story of Its Birth.
Before anybody outside Apple was aware of it, the project that would become the iPhone was referred to internally by the code name Purple.
From ACM Opinion
A Guide to Challenges Facing Self-Driving Car Technologists
In the minds of many in Silicon Valley and in the auto industry, it is inevitable that cars will eventually drive themselves.
From ACM Opinion
Privacy in the Cellphone Age
Odds are you need to use that phone in your pocket many times a day—and doing so leaves you no choice but to constantly relay data revealing your location and movements...
From ACM Opinion
What Happens When Your Car Gets Hacked?
As devastating as the latest widespread ransomware attacks have been, it's a problem with a solution.
From ACM Opinion
Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future
One persistent criticism of Silicon Valley is that it no longer works on big, world-changing ideas.
From ACM Opinion
How Privacy Became a Commodity For the Rich and Powerful
Recently I handed over the keys to my email account to a service that promised to turn my spam-bloated inbox into a sparkling model of efficiency in just a few...
From ACM Opinion
The 'fix' For Net Neutrality That Consumers Don't Need
Netflix and Amazon have been nominated for hundreds of Emmys and Golden Globe awards in recent years, and that is a testament to both the quality of those companies...
From ACM Opinion
How the Republicans Sold Your Privacy to Internet Providers
On Tuesday afternoon, while most people were focused on the latest news from the House Intelligence Committee, the House quietly voted to undo rules that keep internet...
From ACM Opinion
The Trump Administration's War on Science
"Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people," President Trump said in his speech to Congress last month, after summoning...
From ACM Opinion