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
Has One of Math's Greatest Mysteries, the Riemann Hypothesis, Finally Been Solved?
Over the past few days, the mathematics world has been abuzz over the news that Sir Michael Atiyah, the famous Fields Medalist and Abel Prize winner, claims to....
From ACM Opinion
Paper-Based Electronics Could Fold, Biodegrade and Be the Basis for the Next Generation of Devices
It seems like every few months there's a new cellphone, laptop or tablet that is so exciting people line up around the block to get their hands on it.
From ACM Opinion
In 1968, Computers Got Personal: How the 'Mother of All Demos' Changed the World
On a crisp California afternoon in early December 1968, a square-jawed, mild-mannered Stanford researcher named Douglas Engelbart took the stage at San Francisco's...
From ACM Opinion
Why the Russians Might Hack the Boy Scouts Next
In the two years since Russia made headlines for targeting an American political organization–the Democratic National Committee–and undermining Hillary Clinton's...
From ACM Opinion
Ten Years of Large Hadron Collider Discoveries Are Just the Start of Decoding the niverse
Ten years! Ten years since the start of operations for the Large Hadron Collider (LHC), one of the most complex machines ever created.
From ACM Opinion
How Will Google's Innovation Continue Beyond Its 20th Year?
As millions of people came online in the late 1990s they needed help figuring out what each webpage was about, and how to find what they were looking for.
From ACM Opinion
Detecting 'DeepFake' Videos in the Blink of an Eye
A new form of misinformation is poised to spread through online communities as the 2018 midterm election campaigns heat up. Called "deepfakes" after the pseudonymous...
From ACM Opinion
Brains Keep Temporary Molecular Records Before Making a Lasting Memory
The first dance at my wedding lasted exactly four minutes and 52 seconds, but I'll probably remember it for decades.
From ACM Opinion
Weaponized Information Seeks a New Target in Cyberspace: Users' Minds
The Russian attacks on the 2016 U.S. presidential election and the country's continuing election-related hacking have happened across all three dimensions of cyberspace—physical...
From ACM Opinion
Supreme Court Struggles to Define 'Searches' as Technology Changes
What the Fourth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution means when it protects citizens against an unreasonable search by government agents isn't entirely clear.
From ACM Opinion
Microprocessor Designers Realize Security Must Be a Primary Concern
Computers' amazing abilities to entertain people, help them work, and even respond to voice commands are, at their heart, the results of decades of technological...
From ACM Opinion
How We Proved Einstein Right on a Galactic Scale, and What It Means for Dark Energy and Dark Matter
Gravity may be the weakest of the fundamental forces in nature, but it is ultimately what enabled life on Earth to evolve.
From ACM Opinion
Disrupting Pro-ISIS Online 'Ecosystems' Could Help Thwart Real-World Terrorism
Supporters of the Islamic State, or ISIS, around the world gather online, becoming members of virtual communities in much the same way any of us might join online...
From ACM Opinion
Misinformation and Biases Infect Social Media, Both Intentionally and Accidentally
Social media are among the primary sources of news in the U.S. and across the world.
From ACM Opinion
Connected Cars Can Lie, Posing a New Threat to Smart Cities
The day when cars can talk to each other—and to traffic lights, stop signs, guardrails and even pavement markings—is rapidly approaching.
From ACM Opinion
Jurassic World: Can We Really Resurrect a Dinosaur?
This summer, the fifth instalment of the Jurassic Park franchise will be on the big screen, reinforcing a love of dinosaurs that has been with many of us since...
From ACM Opinion
How We're Using Darwin's Theory of Evolution to Build Robots that Can Adapt and Learn on Their Own
The uptake of robotics technology is increasing at a startling rate.
From ACM Opinion
What Are These 'Levels' of Autonomous Vehicles?
As automated and autonomous vehicles become more common on U.S. roads, it's worth a look at what these machines can—and can't—do.
From ACM Opinion
Can Artificial Intelligence Help Find Alien Intelligence?
In the search for extraterrestrial intelligence (SETI), we've often looked for signs of intelligence, technology and communication that are similar to our own. ...
From ACM Opinion