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
Presenting Robots As People Stops s Thinking Clearly About AI
Last week, Pepper the robot spoke before Parliament, but this kind of stunt distracts from the real issues AI provokes.
From ACM Opinion
Why the Iphone X's Face Id Is a Terrible Way to Secure Your Data
The new iPhone X puts face recognition front and centre. Why? Because it is the quickest and easiest way to unlock your phone.
From ACM Opinion
The Darkening Web: Misinformation Is the Strongest Cyberweapon
In late June, I was leaving for a flight from Kiev's Boryspil Airport as news broke that Ukraine was the victim of another massive cyberattack.
From ACM Opinion
We Can Stop Hacking and Trolls, but It Would Ruin the Internet
Cyberterrorism fears are through the roof.
From ACM Opinion
Who Do We Think We Are?
"Death, be not proud, though some have called thee; Mighty and dreadful, for thou art not so; For those whom thou think'st thou dost overthrow; Die not, poor Death...
From ACM Opinion
Robots Will Be More seful If They Are Made to Lack Confidence
Confidence in your abilities is usually a good thing—as long as you can recognise when it's time to ask for help.
From ACM Opinion
David and Goliath: What Do We Do About Surveillance?
"Dear subscriber, you have been registered as a participant in a mass disturbance."
From ACM Opinion
Work in an Age of Robots
What you are about to read was written by a human. Honest.
From ACM Opinion
How Big Data Algorithms See s—while They Eat S p
Four years ago I interviewed Sam Yagan, then CEO of OKCupid, about the mathematics underlying his free matchmaking site.
From ACM Opinion
What It's Like to Fly Passenger Planes from the Ground
Bob Fraser explains what it feels like to pilot a Jetstream airliner containing passengers on 800-kilometre trips from his desk at BAE Systems in Warton, U.K.
From ACM Opinion
Defending the Grand Vision of the Human Brain Project
"A grass roots effort is under way to stop the project... 'Mediocre science, terrible science policy,' begins the spirited letter…"
From ACM Opinion
Dobby, Pikachu, and Kermit Are My Robots' Role Models
Humanoid robots aren't very charismatic yet.
From ACM Opinion
Why Electric Car Maker Tesla Has Torn p Its Patents
Why is Tesla opening up its patents to competitors? Because rival electric car makers are not the enemy — petrol stations are.
From ACM Opinion
Maths Spying: The Quandary of Working For the Spooks
For the past 10 months, a major international scandal has engulfed some of the world's largest employers of mathematicians.
From ACM Opinion
Five Ways to Make Sure We Never Lose a Plane Again
For the past few weeks the world's attention has been focussed on the lost Malaysia Airlines plane and its 239 passengers and crew that has apparently crashed in...
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin: How Its Core Technology Will Change the World
Bitcoin has been called many things, from the future of money to a drug dealer's dream and everything else in between.
From ACM Opinion
My Quantum Algorithm Won't Break the Internet… Yet
Internet security relies on the fact that our computers can't break its cryptosystems. But the quantum algorithm you devised has the potential to do just that.
From ACM Opinion
A Stronger 'online Eraser' Law Would Be a Mistake
Excited teenagers—in other words normal teenagers—have never been famous for consistently wise decisions, nor should they be.
From ACM Opinion
Craig Venter: Why I Put My Name in Synthetic Genomes
How has the definition of life changed during your lifetime?
From ACM Opinion
Why a Cyberwar Won't Happen
Exactly two decades ago, the RAND Corporation, an influential think tank, proclaimed that "cyberwar is coming!"12