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
Even Realistic Videogames Like Call of Duty Won't Help S Win Wars
Millennials can now storm the beaches of Normandy and fight Nazis with a new level of realism.
From ACM Opinion
The Year the Home Button Died
The most convincing lie Steve Jobs ever told was "you already know how to use it."
From ACM Opinion
Augmented Reality's Real Power Will Come From Substance, Not Flash
Last week the pilot light for my water heater went out. I tried to relight it by following the instructions pasted on the side of the heater, but they were as inscrutable...
From ACM Opinion
Artificial Intelligence Is Killing the ncanny Valley and Our Grasp on Reality
There's a revolution afoot, and you will know it by the stripes.
From ACM Opinion
Quantum Computing Is the Next Big Security Risk
The 20th century gave birth to the Nuclear Age as the power of the atom was harnessed and unleashed.
From ACM Careers
Google, Amazon Find Not Everyone Is Ready For AI
Executives at ascendant tech titans like Amazon and Google tend to look down on their predecessor IBM.
From ACM Opinion
The Quantum Spy Author David Ignatius on the Future of High-Tech Espionage
The intersection of quantum computing and espionage may feel like a faraway future. But in his latest novel, David Ignatius, Washington's own John le Carré, tackles...
From ACM Opinion
Ditch All Those Other Messaging Apps: Here's Why You Should se Signal
Stop me if you've heard this before.
From ACM Opinion
Net States Rule the World; We Need to Recognize Their Power
"We reject: kings, presidents, and voting. We believe in: rough consensus and running code." So declared MIT professor David D. Clark in 1992.
From ACM Opinion
Algorithms Have Already Gone Rogue
For more than two decades, Tim O'Reilly has been the conscience of the tech industry.
From ACM Opinion
Software Has a Serious Supply-Chain Security Problem
The warnings consumers hear from information security pros tend to focus on trust: Don't click web links or attachments from an untrusted sender.
From ACM Opinion
Apple's Faceid Could Be a Powerful Tool For Mass Spying
This Tuesday Apple unveiled a new line of phones to much fanfare, but one feature immediately fell under scrutiny:FaceID, a tool that would use facial recognition...
From ACM Opinion
What James Damore Got Wrong About Gender Bias in Computer Science
In August Google employee James Damore made the news and even Wikipedia by publishing his speculation that female software engineers are underrepresented due to...
From ACM Opinion
What I Learned at Gerrymandering Summer Camp
At 6'5", Aaron Dennis towers over the whiteboard beside him.
From ACM Opinion
Sorry, Banning 'killer Robots' Just Isn't Practical
Late Sunday, 116 entrepreneurs, including Elon Musk, released a letter to the United Nations warning of the dangerous "Pandora's Box" presented by weapons that...
From ACM Opinion
Everyone Thinks That Automation Will Take Our Jobs. The Evidence Disagrees
Last year, the Japanese company SoftBank opened a cell phone store in Tokyo and staffed it entirely with sales associates named Pepper. This wasn't as hard as it...
From ACM Opinion
What Is Ray Kurzweil p To at Google? Writing Your Emails
Ray Kurzweil has invented a few things in his time.
From ACM Opinion
AI Could Revolutionize War As Much As Nukes
In 1899, the world's most powerful nations signed a treaty at The Hague that banned military use of aircraft, fearing the emerging technology's destructive power...
From ACM Opinion
AI Will Make Forging Anything Entirely Too Easy
"Lordy, I hope there are tapes," said an exasperated James Comey in his testimony before the Senate Intelligence Committee on June 8. Comey's desire reflects a...
From ACM Opinion