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
Feds Set a Risky Precedent By Indicting 7 Iranian Hackers
This week, the Department of Justice (DOJ) created a potentially dangerous precedent when it indicted seven Iranian hackers involved in attacks on the US financial...
From ACM Opinion
Remembering Silicon Valley's First Giant, Intel's Andrew Grove
Silicon Valley is full of logical absolutists, people who will follow a line of argument wherever it goes, no matter what the human repercussions.
From ACM Opinion
Apple Policy on Bugs May Explain Why Hackers Would Help F.b.i.
After a third party went to the F.B.I. with claims of being able to unlock an iPhone, many in the security industry said they were not surprised that the thirdApple...
From ACM Opinion
From Reagan's Cyber Plan to Apple Vs. Fbi: 'everything Is p For Grabs'
The heated debate between the FBI and Apple over the encryption of the iPhone used by Syed Rizwan Farook, one of the two people who massacred 14 people in San Bernardino...
From ACM Opinion
Apple's Carekit Is the Best Argument Yet For Strong Encryption
On the eve of his company’s court date with the FBI, where it will defend its right to not weaken the security of its own devices, Apple CEO Tim Cook took the stage...
From ACM Opinion
How Self-Driving Cars Will Threaten Privacy
Allow me to join you, if I may, on your morning commute sometime in the indeterminate future.
From ACM Opinion
The Internet of Things Is a Surveillance Nightmare
In 2014, security guru Bruce Schneier said, "Surveillance is the business model of the Internet.
From ACM Opinion
The Law Is Clear: The Fbi Cannot Make Apple Rewrite its Os
Every once in a while, President Obama removes his Law Professor in Chief hat and puts on his I Get Terrifying Briefings Every Day hat.
From ACM Opinion
Is Blockchain the Most Important It Invention of Our Age?
There are not many occasions when one can give an unqualified thumbs-up to something the government does, but this is one such occasion.
From ACM Opinion
Where Computers Defeat Humans, and Where They Can't
ALPHAGO, the artificial intelligence system built by the Google subsidiary DeepMind, has just defeated the human champion, Lee Se-dol, four games to one in the...
From ACM Opinion
Explosive Golf Video Game Has the Best Physics Simulation Ever
Before teeing off, I take a few seconds to line up the shot.
From ACM Opinion
Self-Driving Cars Won't Work ntil We Change Our Roads—and Attitudes
Autonomous vehicles will join human drivers on our roads sooner than most people think.
From ACM Opinion
Cyberwar, Out of the Shadows
A hacking attack on a Las Vegas hotel company. A power grid blackout in the Ukraine. A series of industrial accidents at an Iranian nuclear enrichment lab.
From ACM Opinion
After Alphago, What's Next For Ai?
AlphaGo's victories against legendary Go player Lee Se-dol over the last few days mark a major milestone in AI research.
From ACM Opinion
Head of British Intelligence Agency on Apple, Snowden, and Regrets
Shortly after Robert Hannigan took over the British signals-intelligence agency GCHQ in 2014, he implored technology companies to do more to facilitate investigations...
From ACM Opinion
The Creepy, Inescapable Advertisements That Could Define Virtual Reality
When cookie giant Oreo wanted to promote its latest flavors, its marketing heads decided to spice up its traditional TV ads with something not just new, but otherworldly...
From ACM Opinion
How Apple Could Fed-Proof Its Software pdate System
Apple's refusal to comply with a judge's demand that it help the FBI unlock a terrorist's iPhone has triggered a roiling debate about how much the U.S. government...
From ACM Opinion
A Computer Takes On a Human Master of the Board Game Go
In 1997, IBM's Deep Blue computer defeated the world chess champion Garry Kasparov. It was a momentous occasion for artificial intelligence, showing how far a clever...
From ACM Opinion