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Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids
From ACM Opinion

Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids

Jibo the robot swivels around when it hears its name and tilts its touchscreen face upward, expectantly.

A ­nified Theory of Meme Death
From ACM Opinion

A ­nified Theory of Meme Death

Memes aren't built to last. This is an accepted fact of online life.

The Genesis of Kuri, the Friendly Home Robot
From ACM News

The Genesis of Kuri, the Friendly Home Robot

Over the course  of thousands of years, dogs have evolved alongside humans to be awesome.

Andy Weir: By the Book
From ACM Opinion

Andy Weir: By the Book

The author of "The Martian" and, most recently, "Artemis" has never read Frank Herbert's "Dune": "Yes, I know. I'm the worst sci-fi fan in the universe."

What Reality Tv Teaches ­S About Russia's Influence Campaign
From ACM Opinion

What Reality Tv Teaches ­S About Russia's Influence Campaign

In May 2016, a Facebook page called Heart of Texas urged its nearly 254,000 followers to rise up against what it considered to be an urgent cultural menace.

Should Children Form Emotional Bonds with Robots?
From ACM Opinion

Should Children Form Emotional Bonds with Robots?

When i brought the robot home from the Apple Store, I knew I was inviting a new kind of strangeness into our lives.

Learning to Spot Fake News: Start with a Gut Check
From ACM Opinion

Learning to Spot Fake News: Start with a Gut Check

Which of these statements seems more trustworthy to you?

Does Facebook Even Know How to Control Facebook?
From ACM Opinion

Does Facebook Even Know How to Control Facebook?

Later today, executives from Facebook, Google, and Twitter will go before the Senate Intelligence Committee to testify about the ways that Russian operatives used...

5 Star Trek Technologies That Are More Truth Than Science Fiction
From ACM Opinion

5 Star Trek Technologies That Are More Truth Than Science Fiction

It's easy to get sucked in by the wild and wacky science of Star Trek, from beaming and materializing in other places, to the intense blast of deadly light from...

Fiction That Gets AI Right
From ACM Opinion

Fiction That Gets AI Right

Even the most futuristic applications of AI, from robotic servants to instant health scans, somehow already seem familiar because they have been endless fodder...

Pay What You Want as a Pricing Model For Open Access Publishing?
From Communications of the ACM

Pay What You Want as a Pricing Model For Open Access Publishing?

Analyzing the "Pay What You Want" business model for open access publishing.

Smartphones Are Weapons of Mass Manipulation, and This Guy Is Declaring War on Them
From ACM Opinion

Smartphones Are Weapons of Mass Manipulation, and This Guy Is Declaring War on Them

If, like an ever-growing majority of people in the U.S., you own a smartphone, you might have the sense that apps in the age of the pocket-sized computer are designed...

Pioneering Virtual Reality and New Video Technologies in Journalism
From ACM Opinion

Pioneering Virtual Reality and New Video Technologies in Journalism

How do New York Times journalists use technology in their jobs and in their personal lives? Marcelle Hopkins, deputy video editor and co-director of virtual reality...

Oculus Chief Scientist Speaks About Virtual Reality in the Lab and on Your Face
From ACM Opinion

Oculus Chief Scientist Speaks About Virtual Reality in the Lab and on Your Face

While many of us are impatient with virtual reality—the best headsets are still too expensive, they need to be tethered to beefy computers, and there isn't all...

What Facebook Did to American Democracy
From ACM Opinion

What Facebook Did to American Democracy

In the media world, as in so many other realms, there is a sharp discontinuity in the timeline: before the 2016 election, and after.

Apple's Tim Cook on Iphones, Augmented Reality, and How He Plans to Change Your World
From ACM Opinion

Apple's Tim Cook on Iphones, Augmented Reality, and How He Plans to Change Your World

Earlier this year, video emerged of a new iPhone feature, long before it was released. It showed the phone creating a magical portal in the middle of a city street...

Red-Pilled: My Bizarre Week ­sing the Alt-Right's Vision of the Internet
From ACM Opinion

Red-Pilled: My Bizarre Week ­sing the Alt-Right's Vision of the Internet

Scroll with me here. Somebody named BeatlesBaby makes "a very badass chicken curry." Look, there's a nice sepia-tinted pencil drawing of Ned Stark from Game of...

What, Exactly, Were Russians Trying to Do With Those Facebook Ads?
From ACM Opinion

What, Exactly, Were Russians Trying to Do With Those Facebook Ads?

Many questions remain about the ads purchased by Russian-linked accounts during the 2016 presidential election.

Is Beaming Down In star Trek a Death Sentence?
From ACM Opinion

Is Beaming Down In star Trek a Death Sentence?

In the 2009 movie Star Trek, Captain Kirk and Sulu plummeted down toward the planet Vulcan without a parachute. "Beam us up, beam us up!" Kirk shouted in desperation...

Facebook's Belated Awakening
From ACM Opinion

Facebook's Belated Awakening

Chastened by criticism that Facebook had turned a blind eye to Russia's manipulation of the social network to interfere in the 2016 election, the company's executives...
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