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To Make Your Conspiracy Theory Legit, Just Find an 'expert'
From ACM Opinion

To Make Your Conspiracy Theory Legit, Just Find an 'expert'

"MIT Professor Exposes 'Egregious Error' & Evidence Tampering in US Report on Syria Sarin Incident." Pretty good headline, right?

Face It, Meatsack: Pro Gamer Will Be the Only Job Left
From ACM Opinion

Face It, Meatsack: Pro Gamer Will Be the Only Job Left

Look at economic data closely and the trends aren't pretty: People with elite backgrounds are hoovering up an increasing share of new income and wealth.

Lady Gaga's Halftime Show Drones Have a Bright Future
From ACM Opinion

Lady Gaga's Halftime Show Drones Have a Bright Future

The best Super Bowl halftime shows leave indelible memories, be it a notorious wardrobe malfunction, that goofy Left Shark, or every last second of Beyoncé's two...

At 25, the World Wide Web Is Still a Long Way From Reality
From ACM Opinion

At 25, the World Wide Web Is Still a Long Way From Reality

Twenty-five years ago today, Tim Berners-Lee unleashed the World Wide Web, publishing the first public webpage. Well, maybe.

The Doom of Your Memories Doesn't Really Exist
From ACM Opinion

The Doom of Your Memories Doesn't Really Exist

If you played Doom during its heyday in the 90s, I have some disappointing news: it's not as frightening as you remember.

The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter
From ACM Opinion

The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter

The Juno space probe is now in orbit around Jupiter, meaning space buffs around the world are eagerly awaiting whatever new data the probe sends back.

Cozmo Is an Artificially Intelligent Toy Truck That's Also the Future of Robotics
From ACM Opinion

Cozmo Is an Artificially Intelligent Toy Truck That's Also the Future of Robotics

Hanns Tappeiner types a few lines of code into his laptop and hits "return."

Meet the Smartest, Cutest AI-Powered Robot You've Ever Seen
From ACM Opinion

Meet the Smartest, Cutest AI-Powered Robot You've Ever Seen

Boris Sofman taps his phone, and the robot on the conference room table in front of him wakes up. Not in that gadget-y way, like when a laptop screen turns on,...

Snowden's Chronicler Reveals Her Own Life ­nder Surveillance
From ACM Opinion

Snowden's Chronicler Reveals Her Own Life ­nder Surveillance

Laura Poitras has a talent for disappearing. In her early documentaries like My Country, My Country and The Oath, her camera seems to float invisibly in rooms where...

To Make AI More Human, Teach It to Chitchat
From ACM Opinion

To Make AI More Human, Teach It to Chitchat

Tom was discussing the film star Tang Wei with a chatbot named XiaoIce, and the bot was excited: "A goddess! She stole my heart … and then went off and married!"...

Huge MIT Media Lab Inventions That Transformed Our World
From ACM Opinion

Huge MIT Media Lab Inventions That Transformed Our World

For the last 30 years, the MIT Lab has been a breeding ground for technological progress that’s pushed the world into the future.

How to Get to Mars ... And Maybe Even Live There
From ACM Opinion

How to Get to Mars ... And Maybe Even Live There

There's something about the Red Planet—so close yet so far, inhospitable yet perhaps not totally uninhabitable—that keeps us dreaming about getting there one day...

We're on the Brink of a Revolution in Crazy-Smart Digital Assistants
From ACM Opinion

We're on the Brink of a Revolution in Crazy-Smart Digital Assistants

Here's a quick story you’ve probably heard before, followed by one you probably haven't.

You Can't ­nderstand Security Without These Classic Works
From ACM Opinion

You Can't ­nderstand Security Without These Classic Works

There are seminal books, movies, articles, and more that you've been meaning to get to but just haven't made the time for.

Who Won Science Fiction's Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters
From ACM Opinion

Who Won Science Fiction's Hugo Awards, and Why It Matters

Since 1953, to be nominated for a Hugo Award, among the highest honors in science fiction and fantasy writing, has been a dream come true for authors who love time...

The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey
From ACM Opinion

The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey

The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey" documents in nearly scientific detail exactly that: the story of how the iconic science-fiction film came...

Why I'm Addicted to Browsing Sepia Photos of Old-School Nyc
From ACM Opinion

Why I'm Addicted to Browsing Sepia Photos of Old-School Nyc

It's not a game or social media site, but OldNYC.org is as addictive as Angry Birds and as time consuming as Facebook.

The Martian's Andy Weir Is All Buddy-Buddy with Nasa
From ACM Opinion

The Martian's Andy Weir Is All Buddy-Buddy with Nasa

When sci-fi author Andy Weir went to visit mission control at NASA's Johnson Space Center, the International Space Station was going through a crisis—an air leak...

Cli-Fi—That's Climate Fiction—Is the New Sci-Fi
From ACM Opinion

Cli-Fi—That's Climate Fiction—Is the New Sci-Fi

Extreme weather events, changes in precipitation levels, species migration and extinction—climate change promises so many fun things. But why wait?

Humans Are Tech's Next Big Thing—and That Could Be Risky
From ACM Opinion

Humans Are Tech's Next Big Thing—and That Could Be Risky

Internet companies make billions of dollars by capturing one of the world's most precious commodities: your attention.
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