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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.

Are Computers Already Smarter Than Humans?
From ACM Opinion

Are Computers Already Smarter Than Humans?

Who's smarter—you, or the computer or mobile device on which you're reading this article? The answer is increasingly complex, and depends on definitions in flux...

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.

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?

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.

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.

No, Robots Aren't Killing the American Dream
From ACM Opinion

No, Robots Aren't Killing the American Dream

Defenders of globalization are on solid ground when they criticize President Trump's threats of punitive tariffs and border walls.

How Data Failed ­S in Calling an Election
From ACM Opinion

How Data Failed ­S in Calling an Election

It was a rough night for number crunchers. And for the faith that people in every field—business, politics, sports and academia—have increasingly placed in the...

A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion
From ACM Opinion

A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion

Science fiction comes up often in serious discussions about artificial intelligence and weapons.

For the Debaters: What Shall We Do About the Tech Careening Our Way?
From ACM Opinion

For the Debaters: What Shall We Do About the Tech Careening Our Way?

Here's a question I’m hoping comes up at Monday's presidential debate: Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump, what would you do about self-driving trucks?

How Tech Giants Are Devising Real Ethics For Artificial Intelligence
From ACM Opinion

How Tech Giants Are Devising Real Ethics For Artificial Intelligence

For years, science-fiction moviemakers have been making us fear the bad things that artificially intelligent machines might do to their human creators.

Lessons From the Tesla Crash
From ACM Opinion

Lessons From the Tesla Crash

A recent fatal crash in Florida involving a Tesla Model S is an example of how a new technology designed to make cars safer could, in some cases, make them more...

Self-Driving Cars Could Flip the Auto Insurance Industry on Its Head
From ACM Opinion

Self-Driving Cars Could Flip the Auto Insurance Industry on Its Head

As the driverless car gets closer to reality, so too does the dilemma of how to insure the car and its owner.

Jobs Threatened By Machines: A Once 'stupid' Concern Gains Respect
From ACM Opinion

Jobs Threatened By Machines: A Once 'stupid' Concern Gains Respect

They replaced horses, didn't they? That's how the late, great economist Wassily Leontief responded 35 years ago to those who argued technology would never really...

When Is the Singularity? Probably Not in Your Lifetime
From ACM Opinion

When Is the Singularity? Probably Not in Your Lifetime

Misconception: Computers will outstrip human capabilities within many of our lifetimes.

To Beat Go Champion, Google's Program Needed a Human Army
From ACM Opinion

To Beat Go Champion, Google's Program Needed a Human Army

Nearly 20 years ago, after a chess-playing computer called Deep Blue beat the world grandmaster Garry Kasparov, I wrote an article about why humans would long remain...

Where Computers Defeat Humans, and Where They Can't
From ACM Opinion

Where Computers Defeat Humans, and Where They Can't

ALPHAGO, the artificial intelligence system built by the Google subsidiary DeepMind, has just defeated the human champion, Lee Se-dol, four games to one in the...

A Plan in Case Robots Take the Jobs: Give Everyone a Paycheck
From ACM Opinion

A Plan in Case Robots Take the Jobs: Give Everyone a Paycheck

Let's say computers come for most of our jobs. This may not seem likely at the moment; computer scientists and economists offer wildly varying ideas for how deeply...
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