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
Power Wars: How Obama Justified, Expanded Bush-Era Surveillance
Over the winter holidays, I took some well-needed time offline, away from e-mail and social media.
From Communications of the ACM
Having a Conversation About Bulk Surveillance
Considering a controversial subject that extends far beyond the collection of phone metadata.
From Communications of the ACM
Lessons from the Tech Transfer Trenches
Moving from the research realm to real-world business application.
From Communications of the ACM
Code Hoarding
Committing to commits, and the beauty of summarizing graphs.
From Communications of the ACM
Broadening Access to Computing Education State By State
Influencing computer science education at the state level.
From Communications of the ACM
Privacy Research Directions
What must we learn in order to support privacy requirements as technology advances?
From ACM Opinion
The Case For Looking to the States, Not the Federal Government, to Protect Your Privacy
A year ago, President Obama stood behind a podium at the Federal Trade Commission and called for legislation that would set a single national standard for when...
From ACM Opinion
The Long and Winding History of Encryption
Never in history have more people had access to advanced encryption in their homes, offices, and pockets.
From ACM Opinion
Wikipedia Turns 15
It must be difficult for the roughly half a billion people who visit Wikipedia every month to remember a world without the free online encyclopedia.
From ACM Opinion
'crispr' Breaks Out Of the Lab
A new gene-editing technology has been relentlessly hyped over the past year, and it goes by a catchy if rather incongruous acronym: Crispr.
From ACM Opinion
What Makes a 'smart Gun' Smart?
Every time a toddler accidentally shoots a friend or family member, a teen kills himself via gunshot or a shooter perpetrates an act of mass violence, public discussion...
From ACM Opinion
Why It's So Hard For Washington to Draft Tech Companies Against the Islamic State
Here's the basic problem the government faces when it comes to stopping the Islamic State's Internet propaganda: It needs Silicon Valley's help. But some tech companies—even...
From ACM Opinion
Max Levchin Wants to School Lawmakers on Encryption
PayPal Inc. co-founder Max Levchin wants to make sure lawmakers know "what the hell they're talking about" when they talk about encryption.
From ACM Opinion
In 2016, Terror Suspects and 7-Eleven Thieves May Bring Surveillance to Supreme Court
It has now been 2.5 years since the first Snowden revelations were published. And in 2015, government surveillance marched on in both large (the National Security...
From ACM Opinion
In 2015, Promising Surveillance Cases Ran Into Legal Brick Walls
Today, the first Snowden disclosures in 2013 feel like a distant memory.
From ACM Opinion
Security's Biggest Winners and Losers in 2015
This year, lawmakers surprised us by taking initial steps—albeit, baby ones—to rein in some of the NSA's mass spying and provide better oversight of the intelligence...
From ACM Opinion
Learning to Apply Data Science to Business Problems
One of the most exciting parts of data science is that it can be applied to many domains of knowledge, given our newfound ability to gather valuable data on almost...
From ACM Opinion
And Science's Breakthrough of the Year Is …
It was conceived after a yogurt company in 2007 identified an unexpected defense mechanism that its bacteria use to fight off viruses.
From ACM Opinion