Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From Communications of the ACM
No Limits to Watching?
Considering the ethical questions raised by technologies that are moving from knowing what we are doing (and where) to knowing who we are.
From Communications of the ACM
Is Software Patentable?
Assessing the shifting perspectives on patentability standards for software.
From Communications of the ACM
What Regulators Can Do to Advance Privacy Through Design
Seeking to address the challenges of privacy by design through regulatory process and formal law.
From ACM Opinion
Publishing: Open Citations
When Heather Piwowar set out in May last year to investigate whether making research data publicly available increased the citation rates of articles, she never...
From ACM Opinion
Attn Girls: Stay Interested in STEM
I was a freshman in college when I first laid my hands on a computer. It gave me an instant connection to loved ones and the world around me. That computer ignited...
From ACM Opinion
Playing War: How the Military ses Video Games
According to popular discourse, video games are either the divine instrument of education’s future or the software of Satan himself, provoking young men to carry...
From ACM Opinion
Humans 1, Robots 0
Computers seem to be replacing humans across many industries, and we're all getting very nervous.
From ACM Opinion
The Lessons of Aaron Swartz
On the day after Aaron Swartz's death in January, President Reif and I spoke about how MIT might respond to the breaking news of his suicide.
From ACM Opinion
Texan Creationism Showdown May 'contaminate' Textbook
If creationists in Texas get their way, high-school students throughout the U.S. could soon be reading biology textbooks that falsely cast doubt on the scientific...
From ACM Careers
Students Are 'hacking' Their School-Issued Ipads: Good For Them
Almost immediately after receiving their new school-issued iPads this fall, students in Indiana and in California (and probably elsewhere) managed to bypass the...
From ACM Opinion
Scientists Must Spearhead Ethical se of Big Data
The recent revelation that the National Security Agency collects the personal data of United States citizens, allies and enemies alike has broken the traditional...
From ACM Opinion
Forget Foreign Languages and Music. Teach Our Kids to Code
J. Paul Gibson began to teach programming classes for teens out of frustration.
From ACM Opinion
Civics For a Digital Age
Over half of the world’s population lives in urban environments, and that number is rapidly growing according to the World Health Organization.
From ACM Opinion
Forget Moocs
For a year or two there, free online classes seemed like they just might be the future of higher education.
From ACM Opinion
Cryptographers Have an Ethics Problem
Last week, I visited the MIT computer science department looking for a very famous cryptographer.
From ACM Opinion
Should Students se a Laptop in Class?
There's a widely shared image on the Internet of a teacher's note that says: "Dear students, I know when you're texting in class. Seriously, no one just looks down...
From ACM Opinion
Who Will Prosper in the New World
Self-driving vehicles threaten to send truck drivers to the unemployment office.
From ACM Opinion
The STEM Crisis Is a Myth
You must have seen the warning a thousand times: Too few young people study scientific or technical subjects, businesses can't find enough workers in those fields...
From ACM Opinion