Communications of the ACM
Generative AI Degrades Online Communities
How large language models are influencing online communities.
From ACM Opinion
Proceed with Caution Toward the Self-Driving Car
Driving on Interstate 495 toward Boston in a Ford Fusion one chilly afternoon in March, I did something that would've made even my laid-back long-ago driving instructor...
From ACM Opinion
Time and Navigation: How We Found Our Way in the World
Type an address into your phone, and up will pop a step-by-step route from where you are to where you want to be. This is, in its way, magic—magic that has, at...
From ACM Opinion
Should We Fall Out of Love with Robot Surgery?
Last fall, shoppers outside a Macy's store in Boston were given a chance to test drive a robot. They were invited, compliments of Brigham and Women’s Hospital,...
From ACM Opinion
More Cracks ndermine the Citadel of Tv Profits
For the longest time in the media business, the concept of the bundle has been foundational.
From ACM Opinion
How Technology Is Slowly Developing Its Sense of Smell
Last week I attended what was, I think it is fair to say, the oddest conference I have been to yet. It was the first world congress of the Digital Olfaction Society...
From ACM Opinion
Immigration and the Knowledge Economy
Earlier this year I started teaching a class on entrepreneurship at an after-school program in my community.
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin Is No Longer a Currency
Bitcoin might be a bubble or it might be THE FUTURE, but there's one thing it's not: a currency. It's a tech stock. The question is whether it's Pets.com or Paypal...
From ACM Opinion
The Coming Golden Age For Mobile-Game Developers
Do you like video games? More to the point, do you like developing games and making money? Then here's some great news: The gaming boom that's been underway for...
From ACM Opinion
Will Bitcoins Make Me Rich?
Let me begin this column with a lengthy disclosure. One morning last week, I stopped at my bank, filled out a withdrawal slip for $1,027.51, and walked away with...
From ACM Opinion
If You Hate Red-Light Cameras, You'll Really Hate Speeding Ticket Robots
Four academics from West Point and Samford University in Alabama set out to answer a seemingly simple question: how would one write a computer program to issue...
From ACM Opinion
Intel Cooks p Future of TV—A Potential Mess for Cable
Visualize the TV service you've always wanted: a gorgeous interface that does away with clunky (and often ad-strewn) programming grids; a simple remote that isn't...
From ACM Opinion
One App’s Ios Debacle Shows Dangers of Betting It All on Apple
Apple has removed the popular AppGratis app from its app store. This strikes me as a really sad tale of what can happen when you place all your apps in one app...
From ACM Opinion
Why Retina Displays and 4k Tvs May Not Be Worth the Trouble
When Apple unveiled its Retina screen on the iPhone 4, the world gasped.
From ACM Opinion
Cyber Education Key to Security
Today, cyberspace is woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
From ACM Opinion
17 of Apple's Favorite Apps
Steve Jobs was a stickler for detail, requiring final approval on everything from ads to wording on his Keynote presentations. It's no surprise then that the company...
From ACM Opinion
Why Obama's Brain-Mapping Project Matters
Last week, President Obama officially announced $100 million in funding for arguably the most ambitious neuroscience initiative ever proposed.
From ACM Opinion
Twitter, Hate Speech, and the Costs of Keeping Quiet
Last month was a bittersweet seventh birthday for Twitter.
From ACM Opinion
Five Years And Nothing To Show: How Doom 4 Got Off Track
Doom 4 is in trouble, and has been for quite some time now, according to multiple sources.
From ACM Opinion