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
The Big Tech Trends to Follow at Ces 2018
Imagine this: When you leave the house, your air conditioner and lights turn off automatically. Then when a motion sensor detects a person in the house, like your...
From ACM Opinion
8 Overly Confident, Mostly Pessimistic Predictions About Tech in 2018
It was a very strange year for technology companies. They have become a "bipartisan whipping boy," a new sexist institution, responsible for the muddying of the...
From ACM Opinion
What Telegram Owes Iranians
After the 2009 Green Movement—a failed attempt to overturn a stolen presidential election through street protests—the Iranian political establishment took away...
From ACM Opinion
10 Ways Tech Will Shape Your Life in 2018, For Better and Worse
Is the outlook for technology in 2018 exciting—or slightly terrifying? Flip a coin. You'd be right either way.
From ACM Opinion
3 Brain Technologies to Watch in 2018
Technologies to detect brain activity—fine, we'll come right out and call it mind reading—as well as to change it are moving along so quickly that "a bit of a gold...
From Communications of the ACM
How Law and Computer Science Can Work Together to Improve the Information Society
Seeking to remedy bad legislation with good science.
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
Don't Get Your Kid an Internet-Connected Toy
For last-minute shoppers, tech toys hold a special appeal.
From ACM Opinion
Satya Nadella on Ai, Sexual Harassment, and Microsoft's Soul
Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is putting his own stamp on the tech giant once led by Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.
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
Goodbye Internet: How Regional Divides pended the World Wide Web
So, there you have it: 2017 was the year that finally broke the internet.
From ACM Opinion
As AI and Robots Rise Up, Do Humans Need an Upgrade Too?
There is a chip implanted in my hand. I'm serious.
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.
From ACM Opinion
A nified Theory of Meme Death
Memes aren't built to last. This is an accepted fact of online life.
From ACM Opinion
The Fake News Culprit No One Wants to Identify: You
Data & Society founder and Microsoft researcher danah boyd discusses the shifting public discourse around online disinformation campaigns, and what role the tech...
From ACM Opinion
The F.c.c. Wants to Let Telecoms Cash In on the Internet
The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission wants to let Comcast, Verizon and other broadband companies turn the internet into a latter-day version of...
From ACM Opinion
Apple Is Sharing Your Face with Apps. That's a New Privacy Worry.
Poop that mimics your facial expressions was just the beginning.
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.
From Communications of the ACM
Lousy Advice to the Lovelorn
The 37% rule is rarely applicable in real-world situations. It is certainly entirely wrong-headed as advice for getting married.
From ACM Opinion