Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From ACM Opinion
One Space Between Each Sentence, They Said. Science Just Proved Them Wrong.
In the beginning, the rules of the space bar were simple. Two spaces after each period. Every time. Easy.
From ACM Opinion
Someone Is Watching You
Isn't technology wonderful? At Purdue University, the same IT infrastructure that enables us to manage student assignments and grades, operate residential and dining...
From ACM Opinion
They Survived a School Shooting Only to Wage Battle in Some of the Nastiest Corners of the Internet
In person, Sarah Chadwick and Jaclyn Corin are fierce. And young.
From ACM Opinion
Don't Blame China, Mr. President. Blame the Robots.
Mr. President, if you're looking for someone to demonize for killing blue-collar jobs in your favorite industries, don't blame China and "bad trade deals." Blame...
From ACM Opinion
China's Breathtaking Transformation Into a Scientific Superpower
The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators," a voluminous document describing...
From ACM Opinion
Nissan Wants to Make You a Better Driver By Reading Your Mind
Might the car of the future be able to read your mind?
From ACM Opinion
10 Ways Tech Will Shape Your Life in 2018, For Better and Worse
Is the outlook for technology in 2018 exciting—or slightly terrifying? Flip a coin. You'd be right either way.
From ACM Opinion
We Ignore Iran at Our Peril
When it comes to cyberweapons, America is an elephant and Iran is a flea. Still, a flea can be a persistent nuisance, especially for the unprotected.
From ACM Opinion
Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids
Jibo the robot swivels around when it hears its name and tilts its touchscreen face upward, expectantly.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Is Sharing Your Face with Apps. That's a New Privacy Worry.
Poop that mimics your facial expressions was just the beginning.
From ACM Opinion
Russia Is Pushing to Control Cyberspace. We Should All Be Worried.
Russia's cyber-meddling in the 2016 U.S. presidential election has been accompanied by what U.S. and European experts describe as a worrisome Kremlin campaign to...
From ACM Opinion
Why It's a Real Mistake to Count on a Cellphone When You Go Hiking
Sarah Savage was alone in the woods and didn't know which way to turn.
From ACM Opinion
Russia's Election Meddling Backfired—big-Time
Intelligence officers sometimes talk about "blowback," when covert actions go bad and end up damaging the country that initiated them.
From ACM Opinion
Human Vs. Machine Contests (real or Fictional) But Involving Ordinary Humans
I'm looking for a famous (or at least interesting) human vs. machine contest to use as an analogy in an article.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Is Pulling Vpns from the Chinese App Store. Here's What that Means.
China's restrictive Internet policies are known for blocking Web users who want to reach Google, Facebook or other banned apps. But now some of those policies are...
From ACM Opinion
If You Could 'design' Your Own Child, Would You?
Scientists in Portland, Ore., just succeeded in creating the first genetically modified human embryo in the United States, according to Technology Review.
From ACM Opinion
How China Tames Dissent on the Internet
Chinese government leaders, subtle masters of propaganda, seem to have discovered a Sun Tzu formula for taming dissent on the Internet: The best strategy may not...
From ACM Opinion
Spreading Fake News Becomes Standard Practice For Governments Across the World
Campaigns to manipulate public opinion through false or misleading social media postings have become standard political practice across much of the world, with...
From ACM Opinion
Why Robots Won't Steal All Our Jobs
Don't worry. The robots won't destroy all our jobs. History suggests just the opposite—that new technologies inspire new jobs.
From ACM Opinion