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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.

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.

Five Ways to Make Sure We Never Lose a Plane Again
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...

Roomba Creator: Robot Doubles Need More Charisma
From ACM Opinion

Roomba Creator: Robot Doubles Need More Charisma

Colin Angle is co-founder and CEO of iRobot in Bedford, Massachusetts.

Lifelogging: What It's Like to Record Your Whole Life
From ACM Opinion

Lifelogging: What It's Like to Record Your Whole Life

Gordon Bell, one of the first people to chronicle his existence digitally, explains how it has changed his life and the potential pitfalls.

The Great Ideas Hiding ­nder the Invisibility Cloak
From ACM Opinion

The Great Ideas Hiding ­nder the Invisibility Cloak

Physicist John Pendry talks about the profound physics obscured by his invisibility cloak and how metamaterials could help realise the perfect lens.

My Quantum Algorithm Won't Break the Internet… Yet
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.

Craig Venter: Why I Put My Name in Synthetic Genomes
From ACM Opinion

Craig Venter: Why I Put My Name in Synthetic Genomes

How has the definition of life changed during your lifetime?

Why a Cyberwar Won't Happen
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!"

Nasa Is Turning Science Fiction Into Fact
From ACM Opinion

Nasa Is Turning Science Fiction Into Fact

As a new moon orbiter gets set to launch, Pete Worden, director of NASA Ames, says forget the 20th—this is the real space century.

Meet the Nasa Scientist Devising a Starship Warp Drive
From ACM Opinion

Meet the Nasa Scientist Devising a Starship Warp Drive

The idea that nothing can exceed the speed of light limits our interstellar ambitions. How do we get round this?

Hands On the Wheel, Mind On the Road–not Cyberspace
From ACM Opinion

Hands On the Wheel, Mind On the Road–not Cyberspace

Makers of cars and mobile electronics are pushing a tempting vision of the future. It is one in which you can stay fully connected while driving.

'we Will Be Amazed By the Diversity of Exoplanets'
From ACM Opinion

'we Will Be Amazed By the Diversity of Exoplanets'

The Kepler space telescope's search may be at an end, but Didier Queloz, who found the first world around a sunlike star, says more planet hunts are afoot.

The Trouble With Neuroscience
From ACM Opinion

The Trouble With Neuroscience

No crevice of the human experience is safe.

The Promise and Perils of a Datafied World
From ACM Opinion

The Promise and Perils of a Datafied World

In a former life I was a research assistant. After painstaking weeks spent gathering data, I was tasked with putting the numbers into a statistics application that...

Tony Fadell: From Iphones to Sexing ­p Thermostats
From ACM Opinion

Tony Fadell: From Iphones to Sexing ­p Thermostats

After you left Apple, you developed a "smart" thermostat. Was that always your plan?

'biology Is a Manufacturing Capability'
From ACM Opinion

'biology Is a Manufacturing Capability'

Soon we'll be able to engineer living things with mechanical precision, says Tom Knight, father of synthetic biology.

Will We Ever ­nderstand How Our Brains Work?
From ACM News

Will We Ever ­nderstand How Our Brains Work?

When it comes to the human brain, many scientists believe that we are incapable of understanding how it works because we lack the tools and intelligence to measure...

Patent Could Shackle 3D Printers with Drm
From ACM Opinion

Patent Could Shackle 3D Printers with Drm

One of the greatest benefits of 3D printing technology—the ability to make replacements or parts for household objects like toys, utensils and gadgets—may be denied...
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