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
Military-Funded Prosthetic Technologies Benefit More Than Just Veterans
In 1905, an Ohio farmer survived a railroad accident that cost him both of his legs.
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?
From ACM Opinion
7 in 10 Smartphone Apps Share Your Data with Third-Party Services
Our mobile phones can reveal a lot about ourselves: where we live and work; who our family, friends and acquaintances are; how (and even what) we communicate with...
From ACM Opinion
Who Are the Shadow Brokers?
In 2013, a mysterious group of hackers that calls itself the Shadow Brokers stole a few disks full of National Security Agency secrets.
From ACM Opinion
Medical Microbots Need Better Imaging and Control
More than 50 years ago, physicist Richard Feynman spoke of "swallowing the surgeon" in his classic lecture, 'There's plenty of room at the bottom'.
From ACM Opinion
What Happens When Your Car Gets Hacked?
As devastating as the latest widespread ransomware attacks have been, it's a problem with a solution.
From ACM Opinion
Here's How Trump's FCC Affects You
President Trump rarely spoke about the Federal Communications Commission during his campaign or after entering the White House.
From ACM Opinion
The Vr Future Is Here but No One Can Agree on a Name For It
At the VR keynote at Google's IO developer conference, a slide appeared on screen to start the morning's presentation. Clay Bavor, head of AR and VR for Google,...
From ACM Opinion
Crispr Creator Jennifer Doudna on the Promises, and Pitfalls, of Easy Genetic Modification
For $150, you can buy a Crispr kit online and use it to engineer heartier gut bacteria in your kitchen.
From ACM Opinion
Google, Not the Government, Is Building the Future
One persistent criticism of Silicon Valley is that it no longer works on big, world-changing ideas.
From ACM Opinion
On the Future of Human-Centered Robotics
A major theme in recent political discourse has been the perceived impact of robots and automation on the United States labor economy.
From ACM Opinion
Forget Mars, Let's Go Colonize Titan!
For a while now, there's been a debate in the US over how to direct NASA's next major human spaceflight initiative.
From ACM Opinion
Nvidia Ceo: Software Is Eating the World, but AI Is Going to Eat Software
Tech companies and investors have recently been piling money into artificial intelligence—and plenty has been trickling down to chip maker Nvidia.
From ACM Opinion
How Privacy Became a Commodity For the Rich and Powerful
Recently I handed over the keys to my email account to a service that promised to turn my spam-bloated inbox into a sparkling model of efficiency in just a few...
From ACM Opinion
Online Voting Won't Save Democracy
Technology can do a lot more to make our elections more secure and reliable, and to ensure that participation in the democratic process is available to all.
From ACM Opinion
FCC Chief Makes Case For Tackling Net Neutrality Violations 'after The Fact'
The Federal Communications Commission will vote on May 18 to formally begin the process of loosening regulations that enforce the so-called net neutrality rules...
From ACM Opinion
Russian Disinformation Technology
On July 17, 2014, as passengers checked in at Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport for Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17, "Necro Mancer"(@666_mancer) tweeted about an unusual...
From ACM Opinion
Google and Facebook's Idealistic Futures Are Built on Ads
In 2011 a young computer scientist named Jeff Hammerbacher said something profound while explaining why he'd decided to leave Facebook—and the promise of a small...
From ACM Opinion
The Internet of Things Needs a Code of Ethics
In October, when malware called Mirai took over poorly secured webcams and DVRs, and used them to disrupt internet access across the United States, I wondered who...
From ACM Opinion