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The Quiet Threat Inside 'Internet of Things' Devices
From ACM Opinion

The Quiet Threat Inside 'Internet of Things' Devices

As Americans increasingly buy and install smart devices in their homes, all those cheap interconnected devices create new security problems for individuals and...

Tiny Computers Could Transform Our Lives
From ACM Opinion

Tiny Computers Could Transform Our Lives

Remember Innerspace, the comedy sci-fi movie from the '80s about a microscopic manned pod injected into a human?

When Chinese Hackers Declared War on the Rest of ­s
From ACM Opinion

When Chinese Hackers Declared War on the Rest of ­s

Late one Wednesday in March 2015, an alarm sounded in the offices of GitHub, a San Francisco-based software firm. The company's offices exemplified the kind of...

Etch a Sketch Lives On in Browser-Based Chrome Labs Project
From ACM Opinion

Etch a Sketch Lives On in Browser-Based Chrome Labs Project

Everyone who remembers the Etch A Sketch slabs of yesteryear remembers how difficult it was to translate your vision onto its "magic screen," and how proud youWeb...

Dreaming of Death Rays: The Search for Laser Weapons
From ACM Opinion

Dreaming of Death Rays: The Search for Laser Weapons

Lasers first emerged nearly 60 years ago, but the idea of using powerful beams of heat or light is hardly new.

Countering Russian Disinformation the Baltic Nations' Way
From ACM News

Countering Russian Disinformation the Baltic Nations' Way

As the new Congress begins, it will soon discuss the comprehensive reports to the U.S. Senate on the disinformation campaign of half-truths, outright fabrications...

Tech Giants, Gorging on AI Professors Is Bad for You
From ACM Opinion

Tech Giants, Gorging on AI Professors Is Bad for You

In an essay written in 1833, the British economist William Forster Lloyd made a profound observation using the example of cattle grazing.

Never Mind Killer Robots; Here Are Six Real AI Dangers to Watch Out for in 2019
From ACM Opinion

Never Mind Killer Robots; Here Are Six Real AI Dangers to Watch Out for in 2019

Once it was fashionable to fret about the prospect of super-intelligent machines taking over the world. The past year showed that AI may cause all sorts of hazards...

A Reason to Despair About the Digital Future: Deepfakes
From ACM Opinion

A Reason to Despair About the Digital Future: Deepfakes

A despairing prediction for the digital future came from an unlikely source recently. Speaking of "deepfakes," or media manipulated through artificial intelligence...

In Memory of Lawrence Roberts
From ACM Opinion

In Memory of Lawrence Roberts

Beeeeeeep.

What's Behind China's Space Programme Expansion
From ACM Opinion

What's Behind China's Space Programme Expansion

China is a relative late-bloomer when it comes to the world of space exploration. But just 15 years after it first sent an astronaut into orbit, China has become...

Tor Is Easier Than Ever. Time to Give It a Try
From ACM Opinion

Tor Is Easier Than Ever. Time to Give It a Try

You probably know about the digital anonymity service Tor, but for whatever reason you may not actually use it.

Is Quantum Computing a Cybersecurity Threat?
From ACM Opinion

Is Quantum Computing a Cybersecurity Threat?

Cybersecurity researchers and analysts are rightly worried that a new type of computer, based on quantum physics rather than more standard electronics, could ...

7 Arguments Against the Autonomous-Vehicle ­Utopia
From ACM Opinion

7 Arguments Against the Autonomous-Vehicle ­Utopia

Self-driving cars are coming. Tech giants such as Uber and Alphabet have bet on it, as have old-school car manufacturers such as Ford and General Motors.

How Russia ­sed the Internet to Perfect Its Dark Arts
From ACM Opinion

How Russia ­sed the Internet to Perfect Its Dark Arts

Imagine American politics for a moment as a laboratory experiment. A foreign adversary (let's call it "Russia") begins to play with the subjects, using carrots...

Don't Fear the Robot Overlords; Embrace Them as Coworkers
From ACM Opinion

Don't Fear the Robot Overlords; Embrace Them as Coworkers

In a chilly warehouse just outside of Boston, the brute toils away. It's 600 pounds of orange and black metal and whirring motors, a massive robotic arm that picks...

The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing
From ACM Opinion

The Tech That Was Fixed in 2018 and the Tech That Still Needs Fixing

Personal technology was so awful this year that nobody would think you were paranoid if you dug a hole and buried your computer, phone and smart speaker under six...

How China Got a Head Start in Fintech, and Why the West Won't Catch ­p
From ACM Opinion

How China Got a Head Start in Fintech, and Why the West Won't Catch ­p

In 2013 I moved from Paris to Beijing to study China's financial system. I stayed for two years and became fluent enough to translate economics books from Mandarin...

The Search for Anti-Conservative Bias on Google
From ACM Opinion

The Search for Anti-Conservative Bias on Google

Last Wednesday, a day after Google's C.E.O., Sundar Pichai, sat before the House Judiciary Committee to answer questions about the company's search engine,Donald...

Google Isn't the Company that We Should Have Handed the Web Over To
From ACM Opinion

Google Isn't the Company that We Should Have Handed the Web Over To

With Microsoft's decision to end development of its own Web rendering engine and switch to Chromium, control over the Web has functionally been ceded to Google....
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