acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Opinion


bg-corner

­sing Technology to Break the Speed Barrier of Reading
From ACM Opinion

­sing Technology to Break the Speed Barrier of Reading

I grew up in a tiny New York City apartment, packed in alongside our four cats and my father's immense personal library of some 3000 books.

Hundreds of 'black Hat' English Wikipedia Accounts Blocked Following Investigation
From ACM News

Hundreds of 'black Hat' English Wikipedia Accounts Blocked Following Investigation

After weeks of investigation, volunteer editors on English Wikipedia announced that they blocked 381 user accounts for "black hat" editing.

You Can't ­nderstand Security Without These Classic Works
From ACM Opinion

You Can't ­nderstand Security Without These Classic Works

There are seminal books, movies, articles, and more that you've been meaning to get to but just haven't made the time for.

A Beginner's Guide to Invisibility
From ACM Opinion

A Beginner's Guide to Invisibility

It is possible, according to many sources, to become invisible, but you must be patient, methodical, and willing to eat almost anything.

Nine Real Nasa Technologies in 'the Martian'
From ACM News

Nine Real Nasa Technologies in 'the Martian'

Mars has held a central place in human imagination and culture for millennia.

In Search of the Keys to the Virtual City
From ACM Opinion

In Search of the Keys to the Virtual City

I'm not the first man to believe that he might fix London.

How Close Are We Really to a Robot-Run Society?
From ACM Opinion

How Close Are We Really to a Robot-Run Society?

From Rosie, the Jetsons' robot maid, to Arnold Schwarzenegger's cyborg in The Terminator, popular culture has frequently conceived of robots as having a human-like...

The Pros and Cons of the 'PACM' Proposal
From Communications of the ACM

The Pros and Cons of the 'PACM' Proposal: Point

In "Should Conferences Meet Journals and Where?" ACM Publications Board co-chairs Joseph A. Konstan and Jack W. Davidson introduce a proposal that would interweave...

Move Over, Siri—the Next Generation of Virtual Assistants Is Almost Here
From ACM Opinion

Move Over, Siri—the Next Generation of Virtual Assistants Is Almost Here

Virtual voice-controlled assistants such as Siri, Cortana and Google Now are magical.

It's Operating Systems Vs. Messaging Apps In The Battle For Tech's Next Frontier
From ACM Opinion

It's Operating Systems Vs. Messaging Apps In The Battle For Tech's Next Frontier

As mobile devices continue to explore and colonize the technology landscape, their conquests are leading us to a new era, beyond search and apps.

The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey
From ACM Opinion

The Amazingly Accurate Futurism of 2001: A Space Odyssey

The Making of Stanley Kubrick’s "2001: A Space Odyssey" documents in nearly scientific detail exactly that: the story of how the iconic science-fiction film came...

We Flew a Simulated 747 at Nasa and Didn't Crash or Barf
From ACM Opinion

We Flew a Simulated 747 at Nasa and Didn't Crash or Barf

From a viewing spot in a high bay room at NASA Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, I peer through a glass window at a cab that simulates the cockpit of a commercial...

Apple Carplay Review: Siri's Finally on the Right Road
From ACM Opinion

Apple Carplay Review: Siri's Finally on the Right Road

I take back all—OK most—of the expletives I’ve ever hurled at Siri.

Why Is Blue Light Before Bedtime Bad For Sleep?
From ACM Opinion

Why Is Blue Light Before Bedtime Bad For Sleep?

In the modern age of technology it is not uncommon to come home after a long day at work or school and blow off steam by reading an e-book or watching television...

Robot Weapons: What's the Harm?
From ACM Opinion

Robot Weapons: What's the Harm?

Last month over a thousand scientists and tech-world luminaries, including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak, released an open letter calling for a global...

Humans, Not Robots, Are the Real Reason Artificial Intelligence Is Scary
From ACM Opinion

Humans, Not Robots, Are the Real Reason Artificial Intelligence Is Scary

Unfortunately, much of the recent outcry against artificial-intelligence weapons has been confused, conjuring robot takeovers of mankind.

Will Artificial Intelligence Surpass Our Own?
From ACM Opinion

Will Artificial Intelligence Surpass Our Own?

Famed science-fiction writer Fredric Brown (1906–1972) delighted in creating the shortest of short stories. "Answer," published in 1954, encapsulated a prescient...

Palmer Luckey: Making Virtual Reality a Reality
From ACM Opinion

Palmer Luckey: Making Virtual Reality a Reality

"Why shouldn't people be able to teleport wherever they want?" asks Palmer Luckey, the 22-year-old founder of Oculus VR, the virtual-reality company that Facebook...

Let's School the Presidential Hopefuls on Cybersecurity
From ACM Opinion

Let's School the Presidential Hopefuls on Cybersecurity

In the build up to the 2016 U.S. election, both Democratic and Republican presidential hopefuls are talking about cybersecurity—and specifically state-sponsored...

For Virtual-Reality Movies, Old Methods Don't Fit New Medium
From ACM News

For Virtual-Reality Movies, Old Methods Don't Fit New Medium

I'm standing on the bow of what looks to be a sunken pirate ship.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account