acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Opinion


bg-corner

What Digital Trash Dumped in Games Tells ­S About the Players
From ACM Opinion

What Digital Trash Dumped in Games Tells ­S About the Players

A strawberry Christmas cake, sexy pants, a pool table, three red jet planes, a hippy bandana, a dog sled, a jetpack, a pair of Adidas trainers, a Tudor throne,an...

The Hot New Job in Silicon Valley Is Being a Robot's Assistant
From ACM Opinion

The Hot New Job in Silicon Valley Is Being a Robot's Assistant

"I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords." So goes the joke every time artificial intelligence threatens to supersede humans in another job.

The Master Algorithm: A World Remade By Machines that Learn
From ACM Opinion

The Master Algorithm: A World Remade By Machines that Learn

Pedro Domingos's new book is a compelling but rather unquestioning insider view of the search for the ultimate in machine learning.

How the Scariest Video Games ­se Our Own Minds to Terrify ­s
From ACM Opinion

How the Scariest Video Games ­se Our Own Minds to Terrify ­s

I think he’s gone—Oh! He's not gone he’s not gone no no no he’s not gone oh Jesus Christ look at his face

I've Taught Computers to Paint Portraits — and How to Code
From ACM TechNews

I've Taught Computers to Paint Portraits — and How to Code

Falmouth University professor Simon Colton works with software that behaves in ways that would be deemed creative if observed in humans. In an interview, Colton...

Psychiatry Is Reinventing Itself Thanks to Advances in Biology
From ACM Opinion

Psychiatry Is Reinventing Itself Thanks to Advances in Biology

A revolution is under way in psychiatry. The science underpinning this discipline has in the past shifted from psychology to pharmacology, and now it is changing...

David and Goliath: What Do We Do About Surveillance?
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."

Virtual Zombie Apocalypse Can Prepare ­S For Disaster
From ACM Opinion

Virtual Zombie Apocalypse Can Prepare ­S For Disaster

Why use online games to study our responses to catastrophic events?

Work in an Age of Robots
From ACM Opinion

Work in an Age of Robots

What you are about to read was written by a human. Honest.

Ex Machina: Quest to Create an AI Takes No Prisoners
From ACM Opinion

Ex Machina: Quest to Create an AI Takes No Prisoners

It's a rare thing to see a movie about science that takes no prisoners intellectually.

Fear Artificial Stupidity, Not Artificial Intelligence
From ACM Opinion

Fear Artificial Stupidity, Not Artificial Intelligence

It is not often that you are obliged to proclaim a much-loved genius wrong, but in his alarming prediction on artificial intelligence and the future of humankind...

Forget Turing—i Want to Test Computer Creativity
From ACM Opinion

Forget Turing—i Want to Test Computer Creativity

What are the elements of the Turing test?

Get Your Head Around the 13 Boldest Ideas in Science
From ACM Opinion

Get Your Head Around the 13 Boldest Ideas in Science

Science is full of mind-blowing and counterintuitive concepts.

How Big Data Algorithms See ­s—while They Eat ­S ­p
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.

What It's Like to Fly Passenger Planes from the Ground
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.

Defending the Grand Vision of the Human Brain Project
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…"

Dobby, Pikachu, and Kermit Are My Robots' Role Models
From ACM Opinion

Dobby, Pikachu, and Kermit Are My Robots' Role Models

Humanoid robots aren't very charismatic yet.

Why Electric Car Maker Tesla Has Torn ­p Its Patents
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.

My Duolingo Learning App Can Reshape Education
From ACM Opinion

My Duolingo Learning App Can Reshape Education

Duolingo users are making new courses for people who speak Asian languages like Chinese and Hindi. How does that work?

Cyborg Angst: 5 Ways Computers Will Perplex ­S in 2039
From ACM News

Cyborg Angst: 5 Ways Computers Will Perplex ­S in 2039

Brain chips mean we are struggling to distinguish our own thoughts from ideas implanted by advertisers.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account