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
The New AI Writing Tool Might Teach Us the Value of Truth
AI literally does not care what is true.
From ACM Opinion
How AI Could Accidentally Extinguish Humankind
Humanity is not prepared for artificial superintelligence right now.
From ACM Opinion
A Reason to Despair About the Digital Future: Deepfakes
A despairing prediction for the digital future came from an unlikely source recently. Speaking of "deepfakes," or media manipulated through artificial intelligence...
From ACM Opinion
Your Smartphone Photos Are Totally Fake, and You Love It
The little camera on this phone has a superpower: It can see things our eyes cannot.
From ACM Opinion
Google's China Plan Isn't Just Evil, It's Bad for Business
Google is proposing a new Faustian bargain with the Chinese government that isn't just morally wrong; it's also terrible for business. Experience has shown that...
From ACM Opinion
The .S. Once Again Has the World's Fastest Supercomputer. Keep p the Hustle.
The United States has knocked China out of the No. 1 position in supercomputing.
From ACM Opinion
Don't Blame China, Mr. President. Blame the Robots.
Mr. President, if you're looking for someone to demonize for killing blue-collar jobs in your favorite industries, don't blame China and "bad trade deals." Blame...
From ACM Opinion
China's Breathtaking Transformation Into a Scientific Superpower
The National Science Foundation and the National Science Board have just released their biennial "Science & Engineering Indicators," a voluminous document describing...
From ACM Opinion
10 Ways Tech Will Shape Your Life in 2018, For Better and Worse
Is the outlook for technology in 2018 exciting—or slightly terrifying? Flip a coin. You'd be right either way.
From ACM Opinion
Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids
Jibo the robot swivels around when it hears its name and tilts its touchscreen face upward, expectantly.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Is Sharing Your Face with Apps. That's a New Privacy Worry.
Poop that mimics your facial expressions was just the beginning.
From ACM Opinion
Human Vs. Machine Contests (real or Fictional) But Involving Ordinary Humans
I'm looking for a famous (or at least interesting) human vs. machine contest to use as an analogy in an article.
From ACM Opinion
Why Robots Won't Steal All Our Jobs
Don't worry. The robots won't destroy all our jobs. History suggests just the opposite—that new technologies inspire new jobs.
From ACM Opinion
Why Apple Is Struggling to Become an Artificial-Intelligence Powerhouse
In 2011, Apple became the first company to place artificial intelligence in the pockets of millions of consumers when it launched the voice assistant Siri on the...
From ACM Opinion
How to Build Your Own Moonshot Lab, According to Astro Teller
From balloon-based Internet to self-driving cars, Astro Teller and his team have produced some of the world's most ambitious technology products.
From ACM Opinion
Coming Technology Will Likely Destroy Millions of Jobs. Is Trump Ready?
American manufacturing job losses to China and Mexico were a major theme of the presidential campaign, and President Trump has followed up on his promise to pressure...
From ACM Opinion
Robots Won't Kill the Workforce. They'll Save the Global Economy.
The United Nations forecasts that the global population will rise from 7.3 billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050, a big number that often prompts warnings about...
From ACM Opinion
Tim Cook: Running Apple 'is Sort of a Lonely Job'
On a sleek white coffee table in Apple CEO Tim Cook's fourth-floor office in late July, beneath framed posters of Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King...
From ACM Opinion
The Brave New World of Robots and Lost Jobs
Job insecurity is a central theme of the 2016 campaign, fueling popular anger about trade deals and immigration. But economists warn that much bigger job losses...
From ACM Opinion
The Tesla Didn't Really Crash Itself
Tesla's Autopilot feature is now under investigation after the first known fatality involving a Tesla car using "Autopilot" mode was reported. The car automation...12