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Talking, Walking Objects
From ACM Opinion

Talking, Walking Objects

Meeting Simon for the first time was one of the most sublime experiences I've had. With every coy head nod, casual hand wave and deep eye gaze, I felt he already...

Red Pill, Blue Pill: Is the ­niverse Just a Giant Computer Simulation?
From ACM Opinion

Red Pill, Blue Pill: Is the ­niverse Just a Giant Computer Simulation?

I've started making my way (skeptically) through Ray Kurzweil’s How to Create a Mind, and at the recommendation of a friend, I've also started keeping tabs on ...

Jeff Hawkins Develops a Brainy Big Data Company
From ACM Opinion

Jeff Hawkins Develops a Brainy Big Data Company

Jeff Hawkins has been a pioneer of mobile devices, a distinguished lecturer in neuroscience, and a published author of a revolutionary theory of how the brain works...

Mow Yard. Drop Off Kids. Take a Drive on Mars.
From ACM Careers

Mow Yard. Drop Off Kids. Take a Drive on Mars.

Matt Heverly, 36, started a recent workday as any young father might: up at 5:30, gulping coffee, fixing a bottle for the baby. 

Epic Mickey Creator Wants to 'shame' Doom and ­nreal Makers: Why He's Not Wrong
From ACM Opinion

Epic Mickey Creator Wants to 'shame' Doom and ­nreal Makers: Why He's Not Wrong

I never got around to playing Epic Mickey, and that’s a shame, because I’ve played nearly everything else by game design luminary Warren Spector.

Exploring the Planets Enriches ­S at Home
From ACM Opinion

Exploring the Planets Enriches ­S at Home

NASA's newest marvel, a one-ton rover named Curiosity, has been set down with all the delicacy of a carton of eggs on the surface of Mars.

With Apple
From ACM Opinion

With Apple

Late last summer, I was introduced to a new special someone. I wasn’t looking to meet this new muse; it all just kind of happened.

Building the Team That Built Watson
From ACM Opinion

Building the Team That Built Watson

The assignment was one of the biggest challenges in the field of artificial intelligence: build a computer smart enough to beat grand champions at the game of...

From ACM Opinion

The Future of Moral Machines

A robot walks into a bar and says, "I’ll have a screwdriver." A bad joke, indeed. But even less funny if the robot says "Give me what’s in your cash register."...

One on One: Jaron Lanier
From ACM Opinion

One on One: Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, a partner architect at Microsoft Research, has had a long and varied career in technology. Mr. Lanier popularized the term "virtual reality" in...

One on One: Jaron Lanier
From ACM Opinion

One on One: Jaron Lanier

Jaron Lanier, a partner architect at Microsoft Research, has had a long and varied career in technology. Mr. Lanier popularized the term "virtual reality" in...

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award
From ACM Opinion

Another Win For Artificial Intelligence: The Turing Award

It's been a banner year or so for artificial intelligence, from the recent triumph of I.B.M.'s Jeopardy-winning supercomputer to a wave of news coverage of the...

From ACM Opinion

Google Schools Its Algorithm

To humans, computer intelligence is a puzzle, as if the machines have split personalities. They can be so remarkably smart at times, yet so bafflingly dumb at...

10 Questions For David Ferrucci
From ACM News

10 Questions For David Ferrucci

Why aren't you letting Watson speak for himself today? Watson is trained to answer questions for Jeopardy! It's not an interactive dialogue system, so it can't...

From ACM Opinion

What Is Artificial Intelligence?

In the category "What Do You Know?," for $1 million: This four-year-old upstart the size of a small R.V. has digested 200 million pages of data about everything...

Google's Earth
From ACM Opinion

Google's Earth

"I actually think most people don't want Google to answer their questions," said the search giant's chief executive, Eric Schmidt, in a recent and controversial...

The First Church of Robotics
From ACM Opinion

The First Church of Robotics

This constant stream of stories about artificial intelligence suggests that machines are becoming smart and autonomous, a new form of life, and that we should...

My (brief) Life as a Robot
From ACM Opinion

My (brief) Life as a Robot

On Wednesday I attended a Silicon Valley press conference dressed as a robot. Actually I was physically in New York City and virtually in Menlo Park, Calif. For...

Generations Homo-Zapiens
From ACM TechNews

Generations Homo-Zapiens

Information technology (IT) will become increasingly organic and humans will get closer to technology, predicts Eurotech Spa President and CEO Roberto Siagri. By...

'it Will Step in on My Day Off'
From ACM TechNews

'it Will Step in on My Day Off'

In this interview, Electronic Arts senior vice-president online Nanea Reeves shares some of her predictions about the future. Reeves says that video games will...
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