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Avengers: Infinity War and the CG Effects Behind Thanos
From ACM Opinion

Avengers: Infinity War and the CG Effects Behind Thanos

Avengers: Infinity War is packed with dozens of beloved characters we've watched and loved over 10 years of Marvel movies. But one character stands—literally—head...

Wikipedia Founder Says Internet ­sers Are Adrift in the 'Fake News' Era
From ACM Opinion

Wikipedia Founder Says Internet ­sers Are Adrift in the 'Fake News' Era

At any given moment, volunteers and paid workers are writing fictional narratives that they present online as news stories, and some of those will get picked up...

Alexa, How Do We Take Our Relationship to the Next Level?
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...

A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the ­niverse
From ACM Opinion

A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the ­niverse

In statistics, abstract math meets real life. To find meaning in unruly sets of raw numbers, statisticians like Donald Richards first look for associations: statistical...

New Brain Maps With ­nmatched Detail May Change Neuroscience
From ACM Opinion

New Brain Maps With ­nmatched Detail May Change Neuroscience

Sitting at the desk in his lower campus office at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, the neuroscientist Tony Zador turned his computer monitor toward me to show off...

Why 2001: A Space Odyssey's Mystery Endures, 50 Years On
From ACM Opinion

Why 2001: A Space Odyssey's Mystery Endures, 50 Years On

Michael Benson's new book Space Odyssey: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke, and the Making of a Masterpiece offers a fresh look at the making of Stanley Kubrick's...

The Man With the Most Valuable Work Experience in the World
From ACM Opinion

The Man With the Most Valuable Work Experience in the World

Chris Urmson led Google's self-driving car team from its early days all the way until the company shed its Google skin and emerged under the Alphabet umbrella as...

To Protect Artificial Intelligence from Attacks, Show It Fake Data
From ACM Opinion

To Protect Artificial Intelligence from Attacks, Show It Fake Data

AI systems can sometimes be tricked into seeing something that's not actually there, as when Google's software "saw" a 3-D-printed turtle as a rifle.

Intelligent to a Fault: When AI Screws ­p, You Might Still Be to Blame
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.

Ancient DNA Is Rewriting Human (and Neanderthal) History
From ACM Opinion

Ancient DNA Is Rewriting Human (and Neanderthal) History

Geneticist David Reich used to study the living, but now he studies the dead.

Supreme Court Skeptical of Microsoft's Ireland E-Mail Privacy Claims
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...

This 'Gray Hat' Hacker Breaks Into Your Car, to Prove a Point
From ACM Opinion

This 'Gray Hat' Hacker Breaks Into Your Car, to Prove a Point

Cybercrime is expanding beyond computers and cellphones. Cars, washers and dryers, and even toasters are going online—an evolution of technology called the ...

The Father of the Internet Sees His Invention Reflected Back Through a 'Black Mirror'
From ACM Opinion

The Father of the Internet Sees His Invention Reflected Back Through a 'Black Mirror'

In 1984, two men were thinking a lot about the Internet. One of them invented it. The other is an artist who would see its impact on society with uncanny prescience...

His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming
From ACM Opinion

His 2020 Campaign Message: The Robots Are Coming

Among the many, many Democrats who will seek the party's presidential nomination in 2020, most probably agree on a handful of core issues: protecting DACA, rejoining...

What It's Like to Fly in the Bermuda Triangle of Space
From ACM Opinion

What It's Like to Fly in the Bermuda Triangle of Space

"Before I became an astronaut, I had seen stories of astronauts who had seen white flashes from radiation while they flew in space," says Terry Virts, a former...

Is Tech Dividing America?
From ACM Opinion

Is Tech Dividing America?

When Americans consider how technology has changed their lives, they tend to focus on how the internet and smartphones have altered how they watch TV, connect with...

How to Design a New Chip on a Budget
From ACM Opinion

How to Design a New Chip on a Budget

We recently had an interesting exchange with bunnie Huang, hardware guru and creator of Chumby, NetTV, and the Novena laptop, among other things. He's also theHacking...

Making Sense of Bitcoin and Its Wild Price Ride
From ACM Opinion

Making Sense of Bitcoin and Its Wild Price Ride

The initial price of Bitcoin, set in 2010, was less than 1 cent.

Google Boss Says AI Is 'more Profound Than Electricity'
From ACM Opinion

Google Boss Says AI Is 'more Profound Than Electricity'

Google CEO Sundar Pichai believes artificial intelligence could have "more profound" implications for humanity than electricity or fire, according to recent comments...

How Technology Is (and Isn't) Changing Our Reading Habits
From ACM Opinion

How Technology Is (and Isn't) Changing Our Reading Habits

Given that you write about the books industry, how do you prefer to read books? On a Kindle or iPad or some other device, or printed books?
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