Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From Communications of the ACM
Do We Really Need Computational Thinking?
Considering the expression "computational thinking" as an entry point to understand why the fundamental contribution of computing to science is the shift from solving...
From Communications of the ACM
How Computer Science at CMU Is Attracting and Retaining Women
Carnegie Mellon University's successful efforts enrolling, sustaining, and graduating women in computer science challenge the belief in a gender divide in CS education...
From ACM Opinion
The Roger Stone Indictment Shows a Conspiratorial Comedy of Opsec Errors
Former Trump advisor and self-proclaimed "dirty trickster" Roger Stone—the man with a Richard Nixon tattoo on his back and a penchant for playing the evil genius—was...
From ACM Opinion
Technologies to Watch in 2019
Seven specialists forecast the developments that will push their fields forward in the year ahead.
From ACM Opinion
Cinematic and Scientific Techniques Combine to Show How a Long-Extinct Creature Moved
The trolls and orcs in The Lord of the Rings films aren't real. The dragons and dire wolves on the hit television show Game of Thrones are simulated. The dinosaurs...
From ACM Opinion
Offices Are Too Hot or Too Cold; Is There a Better Way to Control Room Temperature?
In any office, home or other shared space, there's almost always someone who's too cold, someone who's too hot—and someone who doesn't know what the fuss around...
From ACM Opinion
Five Emerging Cyber-Threats to Worry About in 2019
Last year was full of cybersecurity disasters, from the revelation of security flaws in billions of microchips to massive data breaches and attacks using malicious...
From ACM Opinion
Happy 18th Birthday, Wikipedia. Let's Celebrate the Internet's Good Grown-p.
On Tuesday, Wikipedia celebrates its 18th birthday. If the massive crowdsourced encyclopedia project were human, then in most countries, it would just now be considered...
From ACM Opinion
The Quiet Threat Inside 'Internet of Things' Devices
As Americans increasingly buy and install smart devices in their homes, all those cheap interconnected devices create new security problems for individuals and...
From ACM Opinion
Tiny Computers Could Transform Our Lives
Remember Innerspace, the comedy sci-fi movie from the '80s about a microscopic manned pod injected into a human?
From ACM Opinion
When Chinese Hackers Declared War on the Rest of s
Late one Wednesday in March 2015, an alarm sounded in the offices of GitHub, a San Francisco-based software firm. The company's offices exemplified the kind of...
From ACM Opinion
Etch a Sketch Lives On in Browser-Based Chrome Labs Project
Everyone who remembers the Etch A Sketch slabs of yesteryear remembers how difficult it was to translate your vision onto its "magic screen," and how proud youWeb...
From ACM News
Countering Russian Disinformation the Baltic Nations' Way
As the new Congress begins, it will soon discuss the comprehensive reports to the U.S. Senate on the disinformation campaign of half-truths, outright fabrications...
From ACM Opinion
Tech Giants, Gorging on AI Professors Is Bad for You
In an essay written in 1833, the British economist William Forster Lloyd made a profound observation using the example of cattle grazing.
From ACM Opinion
Never Mind Killer Robots; Here Are Six Real AI Dangers to Watch Out for in 2019
Once it was fashionable to fret about the prospect of super-intelligent machines taking over the world. The past year showed that AI may cause all sorts of hazards...
From ACM Opinion
A Reason to Despair About the Digital Future: Deepfakes
A despairing prediction for the digital future came from an unlikely source recently. Speaking of "deepfakes," or media manipulated through artificial intelligence...
From ACM Opinion
What's Behind China's Space Programme Expansion
China is a relative late-bloomer when it comes to the world of space exploration. But just 15 years after it first sent an astronaut into orbit, China has become...
From ACM Opinion
Tor Is Easier Than Ever. Time to Give It a Try
You probably know about the digital anonymity service Tor, but for whatever reason you may not actually use it.
From ACM Opinion