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 Latest Nsa Leak Is a Reminder that Your Bosses Can See Your Every Move
It took just days for authorities to arrest and charge a federal contractor with leaking classified intelligence to the media.
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
The Wireless Future Ties S Down More Than Ever
As I add more cordless, smart, and rechargeable stuff to my life, I've run more into a mundane but real issue: I still have too many cords to deal with when it's...
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
The Future of Net Neutrality in Trump's America
Now that President Trump has signed legislation repealing landmark federal privacy protections for Internet users, many in Washington are trying to decipher what...
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
What to Expect Now That Internet Providers Can Collect and Sell Your Web Browser History
After Congress handed President Trump legislation Tuesday that would wipe away landmark privacy protections for Internet users, we received a lot of reader questions...
From ACM Opinion
'this Is an All Hands on Deck Thing': A Former Obama Technology Adviser on Robots, Jobs and Cyberwarfare
During the Obama administration, R. David Edelman was one of the president's top advisers. As a part of Obama's National Security Council and his National Economic...
From ACM Opinion
Listen, Technology Holdouts: Enough Is Enough
Even as fanatic customers can be counted on to line up outside the Apple store for the latest iPhone, there are still millions of Americans who don't use a smartphone...
From ACM Opinion
Crispr Pioneer Muses About Long Journey from China to Pinnacle of American Science
Feng Zhang occupies a corner office on the 10th floor of the gleaming, modern biotechnology palace called the Broad Institute.
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
How Donald Trump Will Dismantle Obama's Internet Legacy
President-elect Donald Trump could eviscerate some of the most significant tech policies of the 21st century, all but erasing President Obama's Internet agenda...
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
Ted Cruz Is Wrong About How Free Speech Is Censored on the Internet
Sen. Ted Cruz wants to engineer a United States takeover of a key Internet organization, ICANN, in the name of protecting freedom of expression.
From ACM Opinion
The Cold War Is Over. The Cyber War Has Begun.
Contemplating Russian nuclear threats during the Cold War, the strategist Herman Kahn calibrated a macabre ladder of escalation, with 44 rungs ranging from "Ostensible...
From ACM Opinion