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The Future of Virtual Sex
From ACM Opinion

The Future of Virtual Sex

Is another human being necessary for satisfying sex?

Bitcoin and the Digital-Currency Revolution
From ACM Opinion

Bitcoin and the Digital-Currency Revolution

About a half-billion dollars worth of it vanished from an online exchange in Tokyo.

'soft' Artificial Intelligence Is Suddenly Everywhere
From ACM Opinion

'soft' Artificial Intelligence Is Suddenly Everywhere


Sony Made It Easy, but Any of ­S Could Get Hacked
From ACM Opinion

Sony Made It Easy, but Any of ­S Could Get Hacked

Earlier this month, a mysterious group that calls itself Guardians of Peace hacked into Sony Pictures Entertainment’s computer systems and began revealing many...

Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Threat—Yet
From ACM Opinion

Artificial Intelligence Isn't a Threat—Yet

Does artificial intelligence threaten our species, as the cosmologist Stephen Hawking recently suggested?

Trends to Watch in 2015: From Algorithmic Accountability to the ­ber of X
From ACM News

Trends to Watch in 2015: From Algorithmic Accountability to the ­ber of X

Year-end technology prediction lists can be dull fodder devoted to pie-in-the-sky concepts, outlandish marketing claims or rehashes of familiar trends.

What Could Be Lost as Einstein's Papers Go Online
From ACM Opinion

What Could Be Lost as Einstein's Papers Go Online

When I heard that Albert Einstein's papers were going to be published free online, I was thrilled—at least initially.

Automation Makes ­S Dumb
From ACM Opinion

Automation Makes ­S Dumb

Artificial intelligence has arrived.

Why the Public Library Beats Amazon—for Now
From ACM Opinion

Why the Public Library Beats Amazon—for Now

A growing stack of companies would like you to pay a monthly fee to read e-books, just like you subscribe to Netflix to binge on movies and TV shows.

How the ­.s. Stumbled Into the Drone Era
From ACM Opinion

How the ­.s. Stumbled Into the Drone Era

On Sept. 7, 2000, in the waning days of the Clinton administration, a U.S. Predator drone flew over Afghanistan for the first time.

Billy Beane on the Future of Sports: A Tech-Driven Revolution
From ACM Opinion

Billy Beane on the Future of Sports: A Tech-Driven Revolution

Baseball—my passion and profession for three decades—has been at the forefront of the analytics revolution sweeping through sports.

Studying Your ­sers: Facebook's Greatest Hits
From ACM Opinion

Studying Your ­sers: Facebook's Greatest Hits

Facebook's massive psychological experiment involving almost 700,000 unwitting users has attracted plenty of attention and outrage, but it's far from the only time...

Why I'm Not in a Hurry For a 'smart Home'
From ACM Opinion

Why I'm Not in a Hurry For a 'smart Home'

Here's what it's like to wake up in America's smartest home.

When Is It Ok to Check a Smartphone at the Dinner Table?
From ACM Opinion

When Is It Ok to Check a Smartphone at the Dinner Table?

Not long ago, I went to a nice restaurant with five friends. Good food. Better cocktails.

How to ­se Tech Like a Teenager
From ACM Opinion

How to ­se Tech Like a Teenager

Enough with complaining that young people these days are addicted to their phones. The question you should be asking is: What do they know that you don't?

How to Make Robots Seem Less Creepy
From ACM Opinion

How to Make Robots Seem Less Creepy

Robots may be poised to enter a new frontier in the workplace—but that doesn't mean the public is ready for it.

Man Behind the First Computer Password: It's Become a Nightmare
From ACM Opinion

Man Behind the First Computer Password: It's Become a Nightmare

In the early 1960s, Fernando Corbató helped deploy the first known computer password.

Forget 'the Cloud'; 'the Fog' Is Tech's Future
From ACM Opinion

Forget 'the Cloud'; 'the Fog' Is Tech's Future

I'm as big a believer in the transformational power of cloud computing as anyone you'll meet.

The Future of Brain Implants
From ACM News

The Future of Brain Implants

What would you give for a retinal chip that let you see in the dark or for a next-generation cochlear implant that let you hear any conversation in a noisy restaurant...

The Job After Steve Jobs: Tim Cook and Apple
From ACM Opinion

The Job After Steve Jobs: Tim Cook and Apple

Shortly after Tim Cook succeeded Steve Jobs as CEO of Apple in August 2011, he told a confidant that he got up every morning reminding himself just to do the right...
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