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
Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs With Smartphones?
Amid an opioid epidemic, the rise of deadly synthetic drugs and the widening legalization of marijuana, a curious bright spot has emerged in the youth drug culture...
From ACM Opinion
No, Robots Aren't Killing the American Dream
Defenders of globalization are on solid ground when they criticize President Trump's threats of punitive tariffs and border walls.
From ACM Opinion
Why Silicon Valley Wouldn't Work Without Immigrants
People in tech see something cataclysmic in Mr. Trump executive order barring immigrants from seven Muslim-majority countries: the end of America's standing as...
From ACM Opinion
Where Will Nasa Go in the Age of Trump?
Two weeks after a presidential election that could have vaulted him to the head of NASA, John Grunsfeld reached across his peanut curry at a small restaurant on...
From ACM Opinion
Earth, the Final Frontier
On April 1, 1960, the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration heaved a 270-pound box of electronics into Earth orbit.
From ACM Opinion
Silicon Valley Reels After Trump's Election
Silicon Valley's luminaries woke up Wednesday morning to a darkened new global order, one that the ceaseless optimism of their tech-powered visions seemed suddenly...
From ACM Opinion
How Data Failed S in Calling an Election
It was a rough night for number crunchers. And for the faith that people in every field—business, politics, sports and academia—have increasingly placed in the...
From ACM Opinion
What We've Learned About the Media Industry During This Election
When the 2016 campaign began, legacy news organizations already faced dim industry projections.
From ACM Opinion
Time to Dump Time Zones
We will awaken Sunday to yet another disturbance in the chronosphere—our twice-yearly jolt from resetting the clocks, mechanical and biological.
From ACM Opinion
We Went to the Grace Hopper Celebration. Here's What We're Bringing Back
Members of The New York Times Developers recently made their first group trip to the Grace Hopper Celebration. At 15,000 attendees, GHC is the world's largest gathering...
From ACM Opinion
A.i. Inspiration: The Science Fiction That Frames Discussion
Science fiction comes up often in serious discussions about artificial intelligence and weapons.
From ACM Opinion
If They Google You, Do You Win?
Are voters misleading pollsters? Are there hidden Donald Trump supporters who could throw the election his way?
From ACM Opinion
Whoever Wins the White House, This Year's Big Loser Is Email
Every four years, pundits race to anoint this or that newfangled tech trend as the next disruptive force to forever alter the mechanics of American democracy.
From ACM Opinion
Ron Wyden Discusses Encryption, Data Privacy and Security
Ron Wyden, U.S. senator from Oregon and a member of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, recently talked about the privacy-versus-security debate.
From ACM Opinion
Surveillance in the Post-Obama Era
During his 2008 campaign, President Obama vowed to assert greater oversight of the massive surveillance apparatus built in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, arguing...
From ACM Opinion
The Problem With Google's 'star Trek' Computer
Google is hoping to develop its Assistant, a Siri-like technology to be included on the company's new smartphones and other products, into something like the computer...
From ACM Opinion
For the Debaters: What Shall We Do About the Tech Careening Our Way?
Here's a question I’m hoping comes up at Monday's presidential debate: Secretary Clinton and Mr. Trump, what would you do about self-driving trucks?
From ACM Opinion
The Time I Went on Border Patrol in a Virtual Reality World
I found myself on a desolate desert road, in front of a man who was leaning against the hood of a banged-up sedan and next to a United States Border Patrol agent...
From ACM Opinion
How Tech Giants Are Devising Real Ethics For Artificial Intelligence
For years, science-fiction moviemakers have been making us fear the bad things that artificially intelligent machines might do to their human creators.
From ACM Opinion