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How America's Leading Science Fiction Authors Are Shaping Your Future
From ACM Opinion

How America's Leading Science Fiction Authors Are Shaping Your Future

Stories set in the future are often judged, as time passes, on whether they come true or not.

If the Robots Kill ­s, It's Because It's Their Job
From ACM Opinion

If the Robots Kill ­s, It's Because It's Their Job

In the movie Transcendence, which opens in theaters on Friday, a sentient computer program embarks on a relentless quest for power, nearly destroying humanity in...

Google Wants to Make 'science Fiction' a Reality—and That's Limiting Their Imagination
From ACM Opinion

Google Wants to Make 'science Fiction' a Reality—and That's Limiting Their Imagination

Self-driving cars, extreme life extension, and global wifi provided by weather balloons: Google makes projects that sound like science fiction into reality at its...

Can We Really ­pload Johnny Depp's Brain?
From ACM Opinion

Can We Really ­pload Johnny Depp's Brain?

When Wally Pfister's Transcendence is released on April 17, millions of moviegoers will be asking themselves, "Could we really upload Johnny Depp into a computer...

The New Academic Celebrity
From ACM Careers

The New Academic Celebrity

Back in 1991, a New York Times Magazine writer, Anne Matthews, described Andrew Ross, a doyen of American studies, strolling through the Modern Language Association...

If You Like Immersion, You'll Love This Reality
From ACM Opinion

If You Like Immersion, You'll Love This Reality

The news that Facebook paid $2 billion for a virtual reality start-up, Oculus VR, might strike you as a bit zany.

The Story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri Killer
From ACM Opinion

The Story of Cortana, Microsoft's Siri Killer

Technically, Cortana isn't supposed to exist for at least another 500 years, but that's not stopping Microsoft from bringing her to life this week.

The Dream of Intelligent Robot Friends
From ACM Opinion

The Dream of Intelligent Robot Friends

Karotz is an Internet-enabled console in the shape of an abstracted rabbit.

What Oculus's $2 Billion Payday Teaches ­S About Innovation
From ACM Opinion

What Oculus's $2 Billion Payday Teaches ­S About Innovation

Tuesday's announcement that Facebook is buying the virtual-reality start-up Oculus for $2 billion no doubt left many people scratching their heads.

MOOCs Revisited, With Some Policy Suggestions
From Communications of the ACM

MOOCs Revisited, With Some Policy Suggestions

Assessing the rapidly evolving realm of massive open online courses.

Thinking Outside the Continent
From Communications of the ACM

Thinking Outside the Continent

Encouraging the opportunities for digital innovation and invention to flourish in a variety of social environments.

Small Data, Where N = Me
From Communications of the ACM

Small Data, Where N = Me

Seeking personalized data-derived insights from analysis of our digital traces.

Is Multicore Hardware For General-Purpose Parallel Processing Broken?
From Communications of the ACM

Is Multicore Hardware For General-Purpose Parallel Processing Broken?

The current generation of general-purpose multicore hardware must be fixed to support more application domains and to allow cost-effective parallel programming.

Discovering Two Screens Aren't Better Than One
From ACM Opinion

Discovering Two Screens Aren't Better Than One

For years, techies have argued that getting an extra monitor or two for your desktop computer is an especially effective way to increase personal productivity.

From ACM Opinion

Why Google Doesn't Have a Research Lab

Research vice presidents at some computing giants, such as Microsoft and IBM, rule over divisions housed in dedicated facilities carefully insulated from the rat...

The Future of Internet Freedom
From ACM Opinion

The Future of Internet Freedom

Over the next decade, approximately five billion people will become connected to the Internet.

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...

At Sxsw, the Next Big Thing May Be No Thing at All
From ACM Opinion

At Sxsw, the Next Big Thing May Be No Thing at All

Every year, just before South by Southwest Interactive starts, the froth starts churning. Everybody begins wondering what this year’s breakout hit app will be.

One-Hit Wonders
From ACM Opinion

One-Hit Wonders

For more than a year now, tens of millions of Americans have found time each day to devote themselves to an essential task: swiping at their phones and tablets...

The Weirdest Thing About the Apple Security Bug Is How Simple It Was
From ACM Opinion

The Weirdest Thing About the Apple Security Bug Is How Simple It Was

So for the past 18 months, there has been a horrific security hole in many of Apple's products that has allowed "man in the middle" attacks on supposedly secure...
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