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From ACM Opinion

The Singularity Isn't Near

 Futurists like Vernor Vinge and Ray Kurzweil have argued that the world is rapidly approaching a tipping point, where the accelerating pace of smarter and smarter...

Rise of the Robot Journalists
From ACM Opinion

Rise of the Robot Journalists

The New York Times reported recently that artificial intelligence is being used to compose news stories. Advocates argue that the articles created by "robot journalists"...

From ACM Opinion

A Hint of Deterrence in ­.s. Drone-War Strategy

Here’s the trickiest counterterrorism puzzle for U.S. policymakers: How do you stop al-Qaeda from attacking the American homeland without getting bogged down...

From ACM Opinion

Will Robots Steal Your Job?

If you're taking a break from work to read this article, I've got one question for you: Are you crazy? I know you think no one will notice, and I know that everyone...

Can Brain Research Keep ­S Safe?
From ACM News

Can Brain Research Keep ­S Safe?

Human conflict is often associated with the emergence of a new science or technology. The Civil War's Gatling gun changed battlefield tactics and led to modern...

From ACM News

Captcha Talks Back

What if CAPTCHA messed with you even more than it already does?

Let's Get Back to Real Space Exploration
From ACM Opinion

Let's Get Back to Real Space Exploration

Time to ditch the black armbands and look beyond low Earth orbit again. The shuttle's passing marks the start of an exciting new era.

From ACM Opinion

Let Our Bots Do Our Tweeting For ­S

My tweets generally reflect a set of parochial interests I continually revisit: the shuffle function in iTunes, the Phillies’ crummy batting lineup, reviews of...

In Praise of 'Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill'
From Communications of the ACM

In Praise of 'Wilkes, Wheeler, and Gill'

Sixty years ago, Maurice Wilkes, David Wheeler, and Stanley Gill produced the first textbook on programming: The Preparation of Programs for an Electronic Digital...

From ACM News

Google's Self-Driving Wreck: Really Human Error?

When a self-driving car crashes, one just has to wonder about those robots. Are they really all they're cracked up to be? Or might they be just as cracked as...

From Gamification to Intelligence Amplification to The Singularity
From ACM Opinion

From Gamification to Intelligence Amplification to The Singularity

I've been thinking about the combination of artificial intelligence and intelligence amplification and specifically the symbiosis of these two things. And the...

Who Needs Humans?
From ACM News

Who Needs Humans?

Amid all the job losses of the Great Recession, there is one category of worker that the economic disruption has been good for: nonhumans.

Parting Shots from a Mars Rover
From ACM News

Parting Shots from a Mars Rover

NASA is no longer sending commands to the Spirit rover on Mars, but the long-silent robot still has a few more chances to phone home. Not that anyone is expecting...

One on One: Jaron Lanier
From ACM Opinion

One on One: Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, a partner architect at Microsoft Research, has had a long and varied career in technology. Mr. Lanier popularized the term "virtual reality" in...

Are You Following a Bot?
From ACM Opinion

Are You Following a Bot?

How to manipulate social movements by hacking Twitter.

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award
From ACM Opinion

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award

It's been a banner year or so for artificial intelligence, from the recent triumph of I.B.M.'s Jeopardy-winning supercomputer to a wave of news coverage of the...

From ACM Opinion

Google Schools Its Algorithm

To humans, computer intelligence is a puzzle, as if the machines have split personalities. They can be so remarkably smart at times, yet so bafflingly dumb at...

From ACM News

Is the Navy Trying to Start the Robot Apocalypse?

Whenever the military rolls out a new robot program, folks like to joke about SkyNet or the Rise of the Machines. But this time, the military really is starting...

Cubelets: Modular, Affordable Robotics For Kids and Students
From ACM Opinion

Cubelets: Modular, Affordable Robotics For Kids and Students

Robotics can be a tricky subject to teach children, and it's hard to know where to start. Cubelets is a system of modular cubes that each have one use, interaction...

My Puny Human Brain
From ACM Opinion

My Puny Human Brain

Jeopardy! genius Ken Jennings on what it's like to play against a supercomputer.
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