Communications of the ACM
Innovation Is Overrated: A Provocation
Digital innovation is not working in the interest of the whole of society. It is time to radically rethink its purpose without…
From ACM Opinion
The Mounting Human and Environmental Costs of Generative AI
Planetary impacts, escalating financial costs, and labor exploitation all factor.
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...
From ACM Opinion
3D-Printed (and CNC-Milled) Guns: Nine Questions You Were Too Afraid to Ask
By now, you've probably seen all the news regarding Defense Distributed, company founder Cody Wilson, and 3D-printed guns.
From ACM Opinion
We Know You Hate the Internet of Things, but It's Saving Megafauna from Poachers
For much of this decade, organizations seeking to protect wildlife have attempted to use emerging technology as a conservation tool, allowing small numbers of people...
From ACM Opinion
The Internet Has Serious Health Problems, Mozilla Foundation Report Finds
As Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg prepared to face nearly half of the Senate today to explain what went wrong with his company's handling of personal data for millions...
From ACM Opinion
Why Cops Won't Need a Warrant to Pull the Data Off Your Autonomous Car
Lt. Saul Jaeger, who commands the traffic unit at the Mountain View Police Department, remembers the first time a few years ago when he was given a demo of Waymo's...
From ACM Opinion
The Real Lesson of that Self-Driving Shuttle's First-Day Accident
Wednesday was supposed to be the triumphant launch of a free, driverless shuttle in downtown Las Vegas.
From ACM Opinion
Hacking the Vote: Threats Keep Changing, but Election It Sadly Stays the Same
The outcome of the 2016 presidential election is history. But allegations of voter fraud, election interference by foreign governments, and intrusions into state...
From ACM Opinion
Is Beaming Down In star Trek a Death Sentence?
In the 2009 movie Star Trek, Captain Kirk and Sulu plummeted down toward the planet Vulcan without a parachute. "Beam us up, beam us up!" Kirk shouted in desperation...
From ACM Opinion
Tracking the Spread of Culture Through Folktales
There's a reason why the premise of American Gods is so alluring: the US is home to a wild and glorious mishmash of gods, folktales, and cultural heritage.
From ACM Opinion
Zuckerberg and Musk Are Both Wrong About AI
Back in 2015, a group of business leaders and scientists published an "open letter" about how controlling artificial superintelligence might be the most urgent...
From ACM Opinion
Here's What a 'digital Miranda Warning' Might Look Like
Anyone who has ever watched an American crime movie or television show can practically recite the Miranda warning by heart, even if they don't know its official...
From ACM Opinion
George Orwell Never Dreamed of Advertising as Invasive as Yahoo's Proposal
Yahoo wants to take advertising to the next level—that is, the Orwellian level—bombarding people in public places with targeted advertising served up by the surveillance...
From ACM Opinion
Pro Evolution Soccer 2017 Review: The Finest Soccer Game Ever Made
There are many ways to interpret the beautiful game.
From ACM Opinion
Everyone Gets the Future Wrong: Lo and Behold Movie Review
Hackers? Check. Driverless cars? Check. SpaceX? Check. Robots? Check. Elon Musk? Check. ARPANET? Check. Video game addicts? Check. Brainscans? Check. Internet of...
From ACM Opinion
Dark Patterns Are Designed to Trick You (and They're All Over the Web)
It happens to the best of us. After looking closely at a bank statement or cable bill, suddenly a small, unrecognizable charge appears.
From ACM Opinion
Turkish Coup Plotters' Cyber Fail: Not Turning Off Internet
A failed coup attempt in Turkey, which began during the evening of July 15, was apparently coordinated using the WhatsApp mobile messaging service, according to...
From ACM Opinion
Learning to Code as a 30-Year-Old Kid with Apple’s Swift Playgrounds
If you've installed the iOS 10 public beta since it came out last week, you’ll know that compatible iPads come loaded with the "Swift Playgrounds" app that Apple...
From ACM Opinion