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 Inventor of the Web Predicts 'a Massive Outcry' Over Online Privacy
More than two decades ago, Tim Berners-Lee invented the thing you're using to read this story right now—the World Wide Web.
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
We Rely on the Government For Lots of Data. What Happens to That in the Trump Era of 'alternative Facts'?
During the first 24 hours of the Trump administration, the new White House took a clear, firm stand against publicly available information.
From ACM Opinion
How to Sit Courtside at a Basketball Game Without Leaving Your Couch
One of the promises that virtual reality offered was that we'd all be able to watch "courtside" sports games without having to leave our couches.
From ACM Opinion
'I Don't Intend to Go Crawl Under a Rock': An Exit Interview with FCC Chairman Tom Wheele
If you're familiar with the comedian John Oliver, then you may also remember the man he once memorably called a "dingo." That's Tom Wheeler, the chairman of the...
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
Nate Silver Blew It When He Missed Trump. Now He Really Needs to Get It Right.
Nate Silver is on the downtown 1 train. Possibly because he looks like a (modestly) hip math teacher, and hardly looks up from his phone, he goes unrecognized until...
From ACM Opinion
Here's How Russian Hackers Could Actually Tip an American Election
Reports this week of Russian intrusions into U.S. election systems have startled many voters, but computer experts are not surprised.
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 Real Reason America Controls Its Nukes with Ancient Floppy Disks
America's nuclear arsenal depends on a surprising relic of the 1970s that few of us may recall: the humble floppy disk.
From ACM Opinion
Nasa and the Author of 'the Martian' Tell s Exactly How We'll Get to Mars
In "The Martian," Matt Damon plays a NASA astronaut who's been stranded on Mars and has to figure out how to survive until the space agency can devise a daring...
From ACM Opinion
This Top Scientist Offers a Solution For the Havoc Driverless Cars May Wreck on Workers
Proponents of autonomous vehicles are in a sticky situation.
From ACM Opinion
A Court Is About to Make One of the Most Important Decisions in the History of the Internet
If you thought the battle over net neutrality ended when the Federal Communications Commission slapped a series of unprecedented rules on Internet providers last...
From ACM Opinion
If Killer Robots Arrive, the Terminator Will Be the Least of Our Problems
Autonomous weapons experts sounded the alarm last week at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, cautioning that unless governments act to limit these...
From ACM Opinion
Driverless Cars Are Colliding with the Creepy Trolley Problem
Philosophers have been gnawing on the infamous Trolley Problem for decades, and it’s always been a purely intellectual exercise with no "right" answer.
From ACM Opinion
The Very Best Ideas For Preventing Artificial Intelligence from Wrecking the Planet
The Boston-based Future of Life Institute, backed by a $10 million donation from Elon Musk, recently announced its list of 37 winners of research grants in the....
From ACM Opinion
6 Reasons Why We're nderhyping the Internet of Things
Just when you thought the Internet of Things couldn't possibly live up to its hype, along comes a blockbuster, 142-page report from McKinsey Global Institute ("The...
From ACM Opinion
The Latest Oculus Headset Made Me Want to Throw p. In a Good Way.
Virtual reality and its viability as a consumer technology is a huge theme at this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo, a Los Angeles convention for the video...
From ACM Opinion