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Why We Should Design Some Things to Be Difficult to ­se
From ACM Opinion

Why We Should Design Some Things to Be Difficult to ­se

The first car I ever drove was a bashed Land Rover Defender.

15 Predictions For Tech and Design in 2015
From ACM Opinion

15 Predictions For Tech and Design in 2015

It's our favorite time of year, when frogs from around the world examine the state of technology's future.

In the Future, Your Touchscreens Will Touch You Back
From ACM Opinion

In the Future, Your Touchscreens Will Touch You Back

You comfort your grieving friend online over chat, but you can't reach out and touch their shoulder.

How the Home Telephone Sparked the ­ser-Centered Design Revolution
From ACM Opinion

How the Home Telephone Sparked the ­ser-Centered Design Revolution

Have you ever thought about why doorknobs are positioned at around two-fifths of the door's height, instead of right in the middle? Or why a washing machine is...

Why Cheap Cameras and Boring Sensors Make the Best Smart Home Stuff
From ACM Opinion

Why Cheap Cameras and Boring Sensors Make the Best Smart Home Stuff

The twin fixations of CES this year are, to no one's surprise, wearable technology and the internet of things.

This Year's 8 Smartest ­i Design Ideas
From ACM News

This Year's 8 Smartest ­i Design Ideas

When your family gathered for the holidays this year, did you take note of the technology everyone was using?

Sure, Artificial Intelligence May End Our World, But That Is Not the Main Problem
From ACM Opinion

Sure, Artificial Intelligence May End Our World, But That Is Not the Main Problem

The robots will rise, we're told.

The Simple Question Nobody's Asking About Net Neutrality
From ACM Opinion

The Simple Question Nobody's Asking About Net Neutrality

President Obama rattled the internet this week when he unloaded his opinion on net neutrality, the notion that all internet traffic should be treated equally.

A Sad Fact of Life: It's Actually Smart to Be Mean Online
From ACM Opinion

A Sad Fact of Life: It's Actually Smart to Be Mean Online

I'm generally upbeat on Twitter. Many of my posts are enthusiastic blurts about science or research in which I use way too many exclamation points!!

The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally ­nleashed AI on the World
From ACM Opinion

The Three Breakthroughs That Have Finally ­nleashed AI on the World

A few months ago I made the trek to the sylvan campus of the IBM research labs in Yorktown Heights, New York, to catch an early glimpse of the fast-arriving, long...

Robot Servants Are Going to Make Your Life Easy. Then They'll Ruin It
From ACM Opinion

Robot Servants Are Going to Make Your Life Easy. Then They'll Ruin It

Jibo, the "world's first family robot," hit the media hype machine like a bomb.

I Liked Everything I Saw on Facebook For Two Days. Here's What It Did to Me
From ACM Opinion

I Liked Everything I Saw on Facebook For Two Days. Here's What It Did to Me

There's this great Andy Warhol quote you’ve probably seen before: "I think everybody should like everybody."

The Data Centers of Tomorrow Will ­se the Same Tech Our Phones Do
From ACM Opinion

The Data Centers of Tomorrow Will ­se the Same Tech Our Phones Do

The mobile revolution has spread beyond the mini supercomputers in our hands all the way to the data center.

When Robots Come For Our Jobs, Will We Be Ready to Outsmart Them?
From ACM Opinion

When Robots Come For Our Jobs, Will We Be Ready to Outsmart Them?

Non-human employees are filling positions in all sorts of workplaces, and they are proving themselves to be fast, accurate, and reliable—more so than their human...

The Moral Hazards and Legal Conundrums of Our Robot-Filled Future
From ACM Opinion

The Moral Hazards and Legal Conundrums of Our Robot-Filled Future

The robots are coming, and they're getting smarter.

What Everyone Gets Wrong in the Debate Over Net Neutrality
From ACM Opinion

What Everyone Gets Wrong in the Debate Over Net Neutrality

Even Sunday night HBO watchers are worried the Federal Communications Commission will soon put an end to net neutrality.

That Computer Actually Got an F on the Turing Test
From ACM Opinion

That Computer Actually Got an F on the Turing Test

Over the weekend, a group of programmers claimed they built a program that passed the famous Turing Test, in which a computer tries to trick judges into believing...

4 Amazing Things Nasa Invented, and 4 You Think It Did
From ACM Opinion

4 Amazing Things Nasa Invented, and 4 You Think It Did

NASA is everywhere.

900 Years of Tree Diagrams, the Most Important Data Viz Tool in History
From ACM Opinion

900 Years of Tree Diagrams, the Most Important Data Viz Tool in History

You'd be excused for thinking infographics are a modern invention.

Why You Should Embrace Surveillance, Not Fight It
From ACM Opinion

Why You Should Embrace Surveillance, Not Fight It

I once worked with Steven Spielberg on the development of Minority Report, derived from the short story by Philip K. Dick featuring a future society that uses surveillance...
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