Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From ACM Opinion
Ipad Mini Launch: Why Steve Jobs Thought 7in Tablets Would Fail
So if Apple is really launching a 7.85in "iPad mini", how does that square with what Steve Jobs said two years ago?
From ACM Opinion
Capitol Hill Rhetoric Takes Aim at Wrong Cybersecurity Targets
Defense secretary Leon Panetta couldn't resist, could he? He couldn't fight the urge to dig deep into the information security cliché handbook and yank out that...
From ACM Opinion
Fresh Windows, but Where’s the Start Button?
Over the years, Keith McCarthy has become used to a certain way of doing things on his personal computers, which, like most others on the planet, have long run...
From ACM Opinion
Star Trek Technology: How 21st Century Scientists Are Making It So
Destination Star Trek London has kicked off at the ExCeL exhibition centre, and I'm willing to bet that among those heading down for a weekend of pointy-eared fun...
From ACM Opinion
And the Firewalls Came Tumbling Down
There's much to like about "This Machine Kills Secrets," Andy Greenberg's well-reported history of WikiLeaks and the many projects it has inspired, but one unintentionally...
From ACM Opinion
Will Neuroscience Radically Transform the Legal System?
Although academic fields will often enjoy more than Andy Warhol's famous 15 minutes of fame, they too are subject to today's ever-hungry machinery of hype. Like...
From ACM Opinion
Technology Helps Track a Terrorist in 'the Finish'
In late summer 2010, at the end of a morning briefing, one of President Obama's security advisers said, "Mr. President, Leon and the guys at Langley think they...
From ACM Opinion
Patent Could Shackle 3D Printers with Drm
One of the greatest benefits of 3D printing technology—the ability to make replacements or parts for household objects like toys, utensils and gadgets—may be denied...
From ACM Opinion
How I Accidentally Helped Compromise the Secret Keys of High-Security Handcuffs
In the age of freely available modeling software, laser cutters and 3D printers, shapes that must stay secret for security's sake don't stay secret for long. Especially...
From ACM Opinion
Google's Little Nemo Tribute: Maybe The Best Google Doodle Ever
Winsor McCay (1869–1934) was one of the first important creators of both comic strips and animation, and a pretty fair political cartoonist to boot.
From ACM Opinion
Where's the Discussion of Trojan Horses?
The Mykonos Vase, discovered in 1961 in the Cyclades, is one of the earliest accounts of the Trojan Horse, used as a subterfuge by the Greeks to enter the city...
From ACM Opinion
The Limits of Big Data
Stop me if you've heard this one: Three statisticians go rabbit hunting.
From ACM Opinion
The Chinese Steve Jobs Is Probably a Pirate
When discussing innovation, the Chinese like to tout the country’s "Four Great Inventions"—paper, gunpowder, the compass, and woodblock printing—and their enormous...
From ACM Opinion
A Better Approach to Huawei, Zte, and Chinese Cyberspying? Distrust and Verify
In the wake of the 60-page report from Congress’s Select Committee On Intelligence recommending U.S. companies stop buying Chinese-made telecommunications gear...
From ACM Opinion
The Apple Maps Debate and the Real Future of Mapping
The news of the last couple weeks about the stark differences between Apple and Google's mapshave shed light on how hard it is to build a mobile map.
From ACM Opinion
Digital First Isn't an Option for Media—It's the Only Way Forward
Everywhere you look in the traditional media industry, you can see signs of turmoil and disruption: to take just a few recent examples, the New York Times is ...
From ACM Opinion
Rose's Law For Quantum Computers
When I first met Geordie Rose in 2002, I was struck by his ability to explain complex quantum physics and the "spooky" underpinnings of quantum computers. I had...
From ACM Opinion
Hp: Why Bill And Dave Would Back A Break-p Plan
The time has come to break up Hewlett-Packard into parts. That’s the view of UBS analyst Steve Milunovich, who goes so far as to assert that founders Bill Hewlett...
From ACM Opinion
Twitter: Who Do the Politicians Follow?
You can tell a lot about a politician's priorities from who they deign to follow on Twitter. When David Cameron joined the service on Saturday, he started out following...
From ACM Opinion