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What '2001' Got Right
From ACM Opinion

What '2001' Got Right

It's a testament to the lasting influence of Stanley Kubrick and Arthur C. Clarke's film "2001: A Space Odyssey," which turns 50 this week, that the disc-shaped...

The Ageless Appeal of 2001: A Space Odyssey 
From ACM Opinion

The Ageless Appeal of 2001: A Space Odyssey 

In 1968, film-maker Stanley Kubrick and his screenwriting colleague, science-fiction author Arthur C. Clarke, presented 2001: A Space Odyssey. Half a century later...

It's Not My Fault, My Brain Implant Made Me Do It
From ACM Opinion

It's Not My Fault, My Brain Implant Made Me Do It

Mr. B loves Johnny Cash, except when he doesn't. Mr. X has watched his doctors morph into Italian chefs right before his eyes.

Enough With the Trolley Problem
From ACM Opinion

Enough With the Trolley Problem

You know the drill by now: A runaway trolley is careening down a track. There are five workers ahead, sure to be killed if the trolley reaches them.

It's Not Just Facebook. Thousands of Companies Are Spying on You 
From ACM Opinion

It's Not Just Facebook. Thousands of Companies Are Spying on You 

In the wake of the Cambridge Analytica scandal, news articles and commentators have focused on what Facebook knows about us. A lot, it turns out.

How Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Targeting Model Really Worked, According to the Person Who Built It
From ACM Opinion

How Cambridge Analytica's Facebook Targeting Model Really Worked, According to the Person Who Built It

The researcher whose work is at the center of the Facebook-Cambridge Analytica data analysis and political advertising uproar has revealed that his method worked...

The Next Cold War Is Here, and It's All About Data
From ACM Opinion

The Next Cold War Is Here, and It's All About Data

The headlines about the trade wars being touched off by President Trump's new tariffs may telegraph plenty of bombast and shots fired, but the most consequential...

Someone Is Watching You
From ACM Opinion

Someone Is Watching You

Isn't technology wonderful? At Purdue University, the same IT infrastructure that enables us to manage student assignments and grades, operate residential and dining...

The Blockchain Solution to Our Deepfake Problems
From ACM Opinion

The Blockchain Solution to Our Deepfake Problems

Blockchain has always seemed to me like a solution looking for a problem, which isn't a criticism.

Cambridge Analytica Controversy Must Spur Researchers to Update Data Ethics
From ACM Opinion

Cambridge Analytica Controversy Must Spur Researchers to Update Data Ethics

Revelations keep emerging in the Cambridge Analytica personal-data scandal, which has captured global public attention for more than a week. But when the dust settles...

My Cow Game Extracted Your Facebook Data
From ACM Opinion

My Cow Game Extracted Your Facebook Data

For a spell during 2010 and 2011, I was a virtual rancher of clickable cattle on Facebook.

Popping Kernels
From Communications of the ACM

Popping Kernels

Choosing between programming in the kernel or in user space.

Ready Player One: We Are Surprisingly Close to Realizing Just Such a VR Dystopia
From ACM Opinion

Ready Player One: We Are Surprisingly Close to Realizing Just Such a VR Dystopia

I was fortunate enough to catch a preview screening of Ready Player One, Steven Spielberg's adaptation of Ernest Cline's futuristic novel.

Enough About Cryptocurrency. Let's Talk About Virtual Cats
From ACM Opinion

Enough About Cryptocurrency. Let's Talk About Virtual Cats

We spend way too much time talking about digital currencies and not nearly enough time on digital cats.

Fourier's Transformational Thinking
From ACM Opinion

Fourier's Transformational Thinking

When you listen to digital music, the harmonies and chords that you hear have probably been reconstructed from a file that stored them as components of different...

Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Legitimate Researchers ­sing Facebook Data Could Be Collateral Damage
From ACM Opinion

Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Legitimate Researchers ­sing Facebook Data Could Be Collateral Damage

The scandal that has erupted around Cambridge Analytica's alleged harvesting of 50m Facebook profiles assembled from data provided by a UK-based academic and his...

The FCC Should ­se Blockchain to Manage Wireless Spectrum
From ACM Opinion

The FCC Should ­se Blockchain to Manage Wireless Spectrum

The technology at the heart of cryptocurrencies like bitcoin—blockchain—has captured the world's attention, much as the internet, peer-to-peer file transfers, apps...

Med Students Are Getting Terrible Training in Robotic Surgery
From ACM Opinion

Med Students Are Getting Terrible Training in Robotic Surgery

If you think your on-the-job training was tough, imagine what life is like for newbie surgeons.

An Ode to Insignificance: Buttons, Touchscreens, and Other Dangerous Technologies
From ACM Opinion

An Ode to Insignificance: Buttons, Touchscreens, and Other Dangerous Technologies

"The future is already here—it's just not evenly distributed," is an often-quoted line from the brilliant science-fiction writer William Gibson.

In Search of Blockchain's Killer-Apps
From ACM Opinion

In Search of Blockchain's Killer-Apps

Blockchain has been in the news lately, but beyond knowing that it has something to do with payments and digital currencies, most people don't know what blockchain...
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