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
AI Is Not Going to Reinvent the Alphabet Anytime Soon
Artificial intelligence does not understand how humans read well enough to design type on its own.
From ACM Opinion
The Battle Over Women's Data
In a post-Roe world, bodily autonomy must include control over personal data.
From ACM Opinion
AI Is Now Essential National Infrastructure
Building government artificial intelligence capability is as important as roads and rail.
From ACM Opinion
The Overlooked Upsides of Algorithms in the Workplace
Orly Lobel, a law professor at the University of San Diego, believes technology can make the world a better place — and she knows in 2022, that makes her a bit...
From ACM Opinion
Effective Altruism Is Pushing a Dangerous Brand of AI Safety
This philosophy fuels the artificial intelligence research agenda, creating a harmful system in the name of saving humanity.
From ACM Opinion
AI Should Supercharge Workers, not Compete with Them
The economy could get a boost if machine-learning engineers switched from copying human abilities to augmenting them.
From ACM Opinion
Meta's Message Encryption Was Built to Fail
Chat between a teen and her mom about an alleged abortion helped police build their case.
From ACM Opinion
Virtual Reality Stinks Because It Does Not Smell
For VR to feel truly immersive, it needs to start stinking it up.
From ACM Opinion
Europe Is in Danger of Using the Wrong Definition of AI
Some intelligent systems are at risk of being excluded from oversight in the EU's proposed legislation
From ACM Opinion
The Future of Robot Nannies
A machine can't love our children, but our children might love them
From ACM Opinion
The Metaverse Is Simply Big Tech, but Bigger
It's a rebrand of Silicon Valley's increasing power and reach, and it's made for companies, not people
From ACM Opinion
The Healing Power of Javascript
For some, code is therapy, an escape and a path to hope in a troubled world.
From ACM Opinion
The Future of American Industry Depends on Open Source Tech
Open source has two important, and somewhat counterintuitive, advantages: speed and security.
From ACM Opinion
Wouldn't It Be Great If People Could Vote on the Blockchain?
Mobile voting could increase voter participation, but it's plagued by security issues in search of a solution.
From ACM Opinion
Caroline Criado Perez Explains the 'Gender Data Gap'
In Invisible Women, Caroline Criado Perez examines elements of the modern world that appear to be designed with less consideration for women, including smartphones...
From ACM Opinion
The FBI Wanted a Backdoor to the iPhone. Tim Cook Said No
In 2016, Tim Cook fought the law—and won.
From ACM Opinion
The Robocall Crisis Will Never Be Totally Fixed
Years into the robocalling frenzy, your phone probably still rings off the hook with "important information about your account," updates from the "Chinese embassy...
From ACM Opinion
Huawei's Problem Isn't Chinese Backdoors. It's Buggy Software
A report on Thursday from a British government oversight group found that Chinese telecom-equipment maker Huawei has basic but deeply problematic flaws in its product...
From ACM Opinion
The ncanny Valley Nobody's Talking About: Eerie Robot Voices
Call it the Great Convergence of Creepiness. The first bit, the uncanny valley, we're all familiar with by now: If a humanoid robot looks super realistic, but not...
From ACM Opinion