Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From ACM Opinion
When Big Data Marketing Becomes Stalking
Many of us now expect our online activities to be recorded and analyzed, but we assume the physical spaces we inhabit are different.
From ACM Opinion
Here's Why Tech Companies' Nsa 'transparency Reports' Are Mostly a Pr Stunt
Technology companies will soon be able to disclose more details about the number of national security orders and requests they receive, according to a joint statement...
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin and the Fictions of Money
How should we think about a currency like Bitcoin?
From ACM Opinion
I See You: The Databases That Facial-Recognition Apps Need to Survive
Privacy concerns have been ignited by "NameTag," a facial-recognition app designed to reveal personal information after analyzing photos taken on mobile devices...
From ACM Opinion
The White House Is Going to Study Big Data. Here Are 5 Things It Should Know
The White House announced via blog post on Thursday that it's forming working group focused on understanding the promises and pitfalls of big data (with a heavy...
From ACM Opinion
An AI Pal That Is Better Than 'her'
In the movie Her, which was nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture this year, a middle-aged writer named Theodore Twombly installs and rapidly falls in love with...
From ACM Opinion
5 Questions For Edward Snowden That Aren't Exactly About the Nsa
The world's most famous former intelligence contractor, Edward Snowden, is scheduled to answer questions posted on Twitter in an hour-long Webcast on Thursday.
From ACM Opinion
What If Your Autonomous Car Keeps Routing You Past Krispy Kreme?
On a future road trip, your robot car decides to take a new route, driving you past a Krispy Kreme Doughnut shop.
From ACM Opinion
Why Bitcoin Matters
A mysterious new technology emerges, seemingly out of nowhere, but actually the result of two decades of intense research and development by nearly anonymous researchers...
From ACM Opinion
Pretty Good Privacy
Few critics of the NSA will find much satisfaction in President Obama's speech this morning or in the set of reforms that he announced.
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin Is Not Just Digital Currency. It's Napster For Finance.
In 2013, bitcoin's valuation didn't just skyrocket, but its infrastructure, services, and adoption exploded as well, culminating in recent announcements that major...
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin—boom or Bubble?
The baffling Bitcoin boom is either an exercise in self-delusion—a high-tech Ponzi scheme that will come crashing down—or an imaginative new Internet technology...
From ACM Opinion
It's the 30th Anniversary of the Supreme Court's Monumental Decision About Betamax
Those of us who came of age in the Internet era may not know that they owe their ability to go online to a court decision 30 years ago today about a mechanically...
From ACM Opinion
When Google Closes the Nest Deal, Privacy Issues For the Internet of Things Will Hit the Big Time
Google rocked the smart home market Monday with its intention to purchase connected home thermostat maker Nest for $3.2 billion, which will force a much-needed...
From ACM Opinion
How Isaac Asimov Got 2014 Both So Right and So Wrong
In 1964, legendary writer of science fiction and science fact Isaac Asimov visited the World's Fair, where a General Electric pavilion chronicling advances in electric...
From ACM Opinion
'net Neutrality' Ruling Opens Door For Two-Tiered Internet Market
An "Open Internet" became endangered this week at a time when the U.S. increasingly relies on Internet services to deliver everything from education to entertainment...
From ACM Opinion
A Victory For an nfettered Internet
A federal appeals court in Washington slapped the Federal Communications Commission on Tuesday for overstepping its legal authority by trying to regulate Internet...
From ACM Opinion
I Spent Two Hours Talking With the Nsa's Bigwigs. Here's What Has Them Mad
My expectations were low when I asked the National Security Agency to cooperate with my story on the impact of Edward Snowden’s leaks on the tech industry.
From ACM Opinion
Why Google Bought Nest: A Theory
Google is acquiring Nest, makers of a smart thermostat, for a reported $3.2 billion.
From ACM Opinion