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Bitcoin Isn't Going to Change
From ACM Opinion

Bitcoin Isn't Going to Change

There's no evidence that Bitcoin's key players are interested in switching from proof-of-work to energy-saving proof of stake.

Can AI Improve Road Safety Now?
From ACM Opinion

Can AI Improve Road Safety Now?

Well before self-driving cars become a reality, there are simpler approaches that can make roads much safer.

America Is Being Held for Ransom, and It Needs to Fight Back
From ACM Opinion

America Is Being Held for Ransom, and It Needs to Fight Back

A comprehensive anti-ransomware strategy must make it tougher for criminal groups and their sponsors to carry out attacks

When Algorithms Give Real Students Imaginary Grades
From ACM Opinion

When Algorithms Give Real Students Imaginary Grades

In-person final exams were canceled for thousands of students this spring, so computers stepped in — to disastrous effect.

A Case for Banning Facial Recognition
From ACM Opinion

A Case for Banning Facial Recognition

A Google research scientist explains why she thinks the police shouldn't use facial recognition software.

How to (Carefully) Use Tech to Contain the Coronavirus
From ACM Opinion

How to (Carefully) Use Tech to Contain the Coronavirus

The United States can learn from other countries to track the pandemic while still protecting privacy.

A Journey, If You Dare, Into the Minds of Silicon Valley Programmers
From ACM Opinion

A Journey, If You Dare, Into the Minds of Silicon Valley Programmers

Code seems cold and objective, the raw logic of the internet, and Silicon Valley likes it that way.

Don't Fight the Robots. Tax Them.
From ACM Opinion

Don't Fight the Robots. Tax Them.

When Bill Gates floated the idea of imposing a tax on robots a couple of years ago, Lawrence Summers, a former top economic adviser to President Barack Obama, called...

An Intrepid Explorer of Mars Falls Silent
From ACM Opinion

An Intrepid Explorer of Mars Falls Silent

Opportunity, formally known as Mars Exploration Rover B but as Oppy to its many friends and admirers, was pronounced dead on Wednesday after a final round of beamed...

The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know
From ACM Opinion

The Two Codes Your Kids Need to Know

A few years ago, the leaders of the College Board, the folks who administer the SAT college entrance exam, asked themselves a radical question: Of all the skills...

How Silicon Valley Puts the 'Con' in Consent
From ACM Opinion

How Silicon Valley Puts the 'Con' in Consent

The average person would have to spend 76 working days reading all of the digital privacy policies they agree to in the span of a year. Reading Amazon's terms and...

The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing
From ACM Opinion

The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

Personal technology was so awful this year that nobody would think you were paranoid if you dug a hole and buried your computer, phone and smart speaker under six...

The Robots Have Descended on Trump Country
From ACM Opinion

The Robots Have Descended on Trump Country

The growing use of work robots and the deployment of artificial intelligence have been most disruptive in just those areas of the country that provided President...

Can the ­.S. Stop China From Controlling the Next Internet Age?
From ACM Opinion

Can the ­.S. Stop China From Controlling the Next Internet Age?

Imagine, if you will (and you should), a big American tech executive being detained over unspecified charges while on a trip to Beijing.

The End of Privacy Began in the 1960s
From ACM Opinion

The End of Privacy Began in the 1960s

In the fall of 1965, President Lyndon Johnson's administration announced a plan to consolidate hundreds of federal databases into one centralized National Data...

The New Radicalization of the Internet
From ACM Opinion

The New Radicalization of the Internet

Social media has played a key role in the recent rise of violent right-wing extremism in the United States, including three recent incidents—one in which a man...

How Will We Outsmart A.I. Liars?
From ACM Opinion

How Will We Outsmart A.I. Liars?

During the summer before the 2016 presidential election, John Seymour and Philip Tully, two researchers with ZeroFOX, a security company in Baltimore, unveiled...

At China’s Internet Conference, a Darker Side of Tech Emerges
From ACM Opinion

At China’s Internet Conference, a Darker Side of Tech Emerges

Every year at the World Internet Conference, held since 2014 in the photogenic canal town of Wuzhen near Shanghai, companies and government officials have convened ...

Artificial Intelligence Hits the Barrier of Meaning
From ACM Opinion

Artificial Intelligence Hits the Barrier of Meaning

You've probably heard that we're in the midst of an A.I. revolution.

The Internet Will Be the Death of ­s
From ACM Opinion

The Internet Will Be the Death of ­s

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