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With Siri, Apple Could Eventually Build A Real AI
From ACM Opinion

With Siri, Apple Could Eventually Build A Real AI

As iPhone 4S's flood into the hands of the public, users are coming face-to-face with something they weren't quite expecting: Apple's new voice interface, Siri...

From ACM Opinion

Making Robots with Open Source: An Interview with Steve Cousins, Ceo Willow Garage

Steve Cousins, President and CEO of Willow Garage, creators of the PR2 robot and the TurtleBot—both based on the open source ROS (Robot Operating System) platform—discusses...

From ACM Opinion

Apple's Siri Is as Revolutionary as the Mac

The initial reaction to the iPhone 4S was cooler than Apple might have hoped. Expectations had been hyped to such a point that people were looking for a leap...

From ACM Opinion

Dennis Ritchie: The Shoulders Steve Jobs Stood On

The tributes to Dennis Ritchie won’t match the river of praise that spilled out over the web after the death of Steve Jobs. But they should.

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...

Do Volunteer Programmers Produce Better Code?
From ACM Opinion

Do Volunteer Programmers Produce Better Code?

Volunteer programmers do better if they are in it for the long haul, says blogger Robert Pogson. "It's human nature to do better work when you are doing something...

Cold-Calling Dennis Ritchie
From ACM Opinion

Cold-Calling Dennis Ritchie

When I was a grad student at the University of Wisconsin in 1978, I called Dennis Ritchie at Bell Labs to tell him about the work I was doing with the Unix line...

Ada Lovelace and Brazil's Female It Pros
From ACM Opinion

Ada Lovelace and Brazil's Female It Pros

Computer science higher education classes today are heavily skewed towards men. Researcher Jamie Swim's Master's thesis at the University of Texas was focused...

­.s. v. Jones: Where Privacy, Technology and the Constitution Collide
From ACM Opinion

­.s. v. Jones: Where Privacy, Technology and the Constitution Collide

What is at stake in United States v. Jones is nothing less than the continued vitality of the Fourth Amendment in the modern technological age.

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"...

The Future of American Business and Innovation
From ACM Opinion

The Future of American Business and Innovation

When IBM CEO Sam Palmisano kicked off a nationwide speaking tour celebrating IBM's 100th anniversary at Johns Hopkins University? recently, he devoted a chunk...

From ACM Opinion

Prospero's Tempestuous Family

Abdulfattah "John" Jandali is a casino manager outside Reno, so he knows about odds.

Meters Could Spy On ­s
From ACM Opinion

Meters Could Spy On ­s

If you bought an appliance in the last three years, odds are it was 'smart,' meaning it probably contains a wireless radio. Once hooked up to a smart meter, an...

From ACM Opinion

Why iOS 5 Is a Big Deal

While most of this week's attention is going to be on Apple's new iPhone 4S and how it sells, the most important thing to come out of the company is a new version...

Reality Is Borken
From ACM Opinion

Reality Is Borken

U.K. Education Secretary Michael Gove recently declared that games offer "huge potential for maths and science teaching," but progress has been slow. The trick...

Cloud-Powered Facial Recognition Is Terrifying
From ACM Opinion

Cloud-Powered Facial Recognition Is Terrifying

"I never forget a face," goes the Marx Brothers one-liner, "but in your case, I'll be glad to make an exception." Unlike Groucho Marx, unfortunately, the cloud...

Despite Hopes, Computer Sector Not Making A Dent In Joblessness
From ACM Opinion

Despite Hopes, Computer Sector Not Making A Dent In Joblessness

Despite a few success stories, most Internet, software and information technology service firms headquartered in Connecticut are not adding many employees. That...

Miracle Pill or Cheap Gimmick?
From ACM Opinion

Miracle Pill or Cheap Gimmick?

Aakash, the world's cheapest tablet computer, has the potential of being a game-changer that empowers India's poor. But its introduction raises important questions...

From ACM Opinion

Steve Jobs and Me

 He said my 1971 article inspired him. His iBook obsessed me.

From ACM Opinion

What I Learned from Steve Jobs

 Many people have explained what one can learn from Steve Jobs. But few, if any, of these people have been inside the tent and experienced first hand what it was...
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