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subjectComputers And Society
authorThe New York Times
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How Evil Is Tech?
From ACM Opinion

How Evil Is Tech?

Can tech companies take the actions necessary to prevent their companies from becoming social pariahs?

What Reality Tv Teaches ­S About Russia's Influence Campaign
From ACM Opinion

What Reality Tv Teaches ­S About Russia's Influence Campaign

In May 2016, a Facebook page called Heart of Texas urged its nearly 254,000 followers to rise up against what it considered to be an urgent cultural menace.

There's No Good Decision in the Next Big Data Privacy Case
From ACM Opinion

There's No Good Decision in the Next Big Data Privacy Case

In 2013, United States agents served a warrant on Microsoft seeking the emails of a suspect in a drug case.

Kitchen of the Future: Smart and Fast but Not Much Fun
From ACM Opinion

Kitchen of the Future: Smart and Fast but Not Much Fun

Wandering among the engineers and strategy directors and managers of something called "connected customer experience" at the Smart Kitchen Summit, one had to wonder...

Would You Buy a Self-Driving Future From These Guys?
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.

Facebook's Belated Awakening
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...

Facebook's Ad Scandal Isn't a 'fail,' It's a Feature
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...

These Are Not the Robots We Were Promised
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.

A Reverie For the Voyager Probes, Humanity's Calling Cards
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...

A Hunt For Ways to Combat Online Radicalization
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.

Greetings, E.t. (please Don't Murder ­s.)
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...

Please Prove You're Not a Robot
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...

The Real Threat of Artificial Intelligence
From ACM Opinion

The Real Threat of Artificial Intelligence

What worries you about the coming world of artificial intelligence?

The Iphone Is 10 Years Old. Here's the Story of Its Birth.
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.

A Guide to Challenges Facing Self-Driving Car Technologists
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.

Privacy in the Cellphone Age
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...

What Happens When Your Car Gets Hacked?
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.

Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future
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.

How Privacy Became a Commodity For the Rich and Powerful
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...

The 'fix' For Net Neutrality That Consumers Don't Need
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...
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