Communications of the ACM
From ACM Opinion
Mentorship, Sponsorship Are Crucial for Advancing STEM Inclusion
A conversation with Charlotte Owens explores providing opportunities and giving back
From ACM Opinion
Q&A: Shuttle Astronaut Mike Massimino On the Legacy of Apollo 11
On the eve of the 50th anniversary of the first lunar landing, astronaut Mike Massimino speaks about the impact of the Apollo missions on his own career trajectory...
From ACM Opinion
The Vulnerabilities of Our Voting Machines
A few weeks ago computer scientist J. Alex Halderman rolled an electronic voting machine onto a Massachusetts Institute of Technology stage and demonstrated how...
From ACM Opinion
A Conversation With the Only Scientist in Congress
How does it feel to be the only scientist in Congress? Lonely.
From ACM Opinion
How Close Are We, Really, to Building a Quantum Computer?
The race is on to build the world's first meaningful quantum computer—one that can deliver the technology's long-promised ability to help scientists do things like...
From ACM Opinion
Alexa, How Do We Take Our Relationship to the Next Level?
As useful as it would be to interact with smartphones and other gadgets by chatting casually with them, the technology to enable such a simple but meaningful back...
From ACM Opinion
Intelligent to a Fault: When AI Screws p, You Might Still Be to Blame
Artificial intelligence is already making significant inroads in taking over mundane, time-consuming tasks many humans would rather not do.
From ACM Opinion
Supreme Court Skeptical of Microsoft's Ireland E-Mail Privacy Claims
It is not unusual for tech companies to spar with law enforcement over access to customer data. Most cases, however, do not go all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court...
From ACM Opinion
Meltdown and Spectre Expose the Dark Side of Superfast Computers
Hundreds of gadget makers and software companies at this week's annual Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas are staking the success of their newest products...
From ACM Opinion
How Nasa's Search For Et Relies on Advanced AI
The biggest knock against sending robots to explore the solar system for signs of life has always been their inability to make intuitive, even creative decisions...
From ACM Opinion
Is the Power Grid Getting More Vulnerable to Cyber Attacks?
Two weeks ago it was cyberattacks on the Irish power grid. Last month it was a digital assault on U.S. energy companies, including a nuclear power plant. Back in...
From ACM Opinion
Profile of Claude Shannon, Inventor of Information Theory
Claude Shannon couldn't sit still.
From ACM Opinion
20 Years After Deep Blue: How AI Has Advanced Since Conquering Chess
Twenty years ago IBM's Deep Blue computer stunned the world by becoming the first machine to beat a reigning world chess champion in a six-game match.
From ACM Opinion
Ghost in the Sell: Hollywood's Mischievous Vision of AI
Watch enough science fiction movies and you'll probably come to the conclusion that humans are living on borrowed time.
From ACM Opinion
Darpa's Biotech Chief Says 2017 Will 'blow Our Minds'
The Pentagon's research and development division, DARPA—the creative force behind the internet and GPS—retooled itself three years ago to create a new office dedicated...
From ACM Opinion
Trump's Plans to Shake p the Tech World
Donald Trump's ascension to the White House had very little to do with his views on the spread of high-speed broadband, wireless spectrum allocation—or any number...
From ACM Opinion
Richard Dawkins and Other Prominent Scientists React to Trump's Win
This week the U.S. elected businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump as its 45th president. As Scientific American has reported in the run-up to the election...
From ACM Opinion
AI Is Not Out to Get S
Elon Musk's new plan to go all-in on self-driving vehicles puts a lot of faith in the artificial intelligence needed to ensure his Teslas can read and react to...
From ACM Opinion
Could Obama's Threat of Retaliation Against Russia Lead to Cyberwar?
Late last week Obama administration officials used NBC News to send Moscow a cryptic threat: The U.S. government is "contemplating an unprecedented cyber covert...
From ACM Opinion