Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
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 News
Your Digital Trail, And How It Can Be sed Against You
While the collection of private information by the National Security Agency is under scrutiny worldwide, a remarkable amount of your digital trail is also available...
From ACM Opinion
Why Free Software Is More Important Now Than Ever Before
It is now 30 years since I launched the campaign for freedom in computing, that is, for software to be free or "libre" (we use that word to emphasize that we're...
From ACM Opinion
In Search of Planetary Intelligence
It is said that Mahatma Gandhi, when asked about Western civilization, remarked, "I think it would be a good idea."
From ACM Opinion
Large Patent Holders Hate This Reform Proposal. That’s a Good Sign.
The fight over patent reform has turned into a two-front war.
From ACM Opinion
The Fatal Mistake That Doomed Blackberry
Beleaguered gadgetmaker BlackBerry said on Monday that it's signed a tentative agreement to be purchased by a group led by Canadian holding company Fairfax Financial...
From ACM Opinion
Lost to the Ages
You are standing on a dock beside the jutting masts and crow's nest of a sunken ship, water lapping calmly under your feet.
From ACM Opinion
Does Digital Age Overcomplicate Design?
There is a scene in the television series "Boss" in which the mayor of Chicago, played by Kelsey Grammer, is discovered by his wife washing bed sheets by hand at...
From ACM News
Apple: The 64-Bit Question
There's been an interesting sideshow in tech land since Apple unveiled the iPhone 5S last week: Does having the first 64-bitmicroprocessor in a phone mean anything...
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
To Boldly Go Nowhere, For Now
On Aug. 20, NASA's administrator formally welcomed the newest candidates of the astronaut corpsand released a space exploration roadmap that includes robotic and...
From ACM Opinion
The New National Identity Is What Smartphone You Prefer, and Nobody's Quite Sure Why
In a fascinating note at Asymco, mobile analyst and ex-Nokian Horace Dediu details how people's taste in smartphones varies from place to place:
From ACM Opinion
Behold! Jonathan Ive's Apple
Apple is today releasing the much-anticipated iOS 7, and with it, the biggest overhaul of its mobile operating system since it debuted in 2007 with the original...
From ACM Opinion
Ios 7, Thoroughly Reviewed
When we reviewed iOS 6 a year ago, we called it a "spit-and-polish" release and stand by that assessment today.
From ACM Opinion
The 'legalization' of China’s Internet Crackdown
Internet usage—especially microblogging on Sina Weibo, China’s largest Twitter-like social media site—is presenting new challenges and new attempts to meet them...
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
How Robots Can Trick You Into Loving Them
I like to think of my Roomba as cute and industrious.
From ACM Opinion
If 'e.t.' Finds Voyager 1, Will It Phone Earth?
In 1519, Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan launched the expedition that completed the first circumnavigation of the globe. And so humanity learned the full...
From ACM Opinion