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A Team Member's View of All the Work on Earth It Took to Get New Horizons to Pluto
From ACM Opinion

A Team Member's View of All the Work on Earth It Took to Get New Horizons to Pluto

Science is hard and good science is harder—it takes persistence and tons of patience.

Here Are Eff's Most Influential Cases from Its First 25 Years
From ACM News

Here Are Eff's Most Influential Cases from Its First 25 Years

On Friday, July 10, the Electronic Frontier Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary.

How Worried Should You Be About Artificial Intelligence?
From ACM Opinion

How Worried Should You Be About Artificial Intelligence?

Intelligent machines come in myriad forms, so which ones pose a danger to us, and how likely are they to actually happen?

The Social Security Number's Insecurities
From ACM Opinion

The Social Security Number's Insecurities

In both the Anthem insurance hack and the two Office of Personnel Management hacks this year, attackers gained access to Social Security numbers, affecting 80 million...

Google Search Chief Amit Singhal Talks Searching Apps
From ACM Opinion

Google Search Chief Amit Singhal Talks Searching Apps

Amit Singhal, Google's search chief, has spent the past 15 years creating the miracle that is the Google search box.

The Rise of the New Crypto War
From ACM Opinion

The Rise of the New Crypto War

James B. Comey, Jr., the seventh director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, is afraid of the dark.

Moxie Marlinspike: The Coder Who Encrypted Your Texts
From ACM Opinion

Moxie Marlinspike: The Coder Who Encrypted Your Texts

In the past decade, Moxie Marlinspike has squatted on an abandoned island, toured the U.S. by hopping trains, he says, and earned the enmity of government officials...

Encryption, Public Safety, and 'going Dark'
From ACM Opinion

Encryption, Public Safety, and 'going Dark'

I am worried we are talking past each other with respect to "Going Dark," so let me try to frame it in a way that I hope is fair-minded and provides a basis for...

The Very Best Ideas For Preventing Artificial Intelligence from Wrecking the Planet
From ACM Opinion

The Very Best Ideas For Preventing Artificial Intelligence from Wrecking the Planet

The Boston-based Future of Life Institute, backed by a $10 million donation from Elon Musk, recently announced its list of 37 winners of research grants in the....

Leap Motion's Augmented-Reality Computing Looks Stupid Cool
From ACM News

Leap Motion's Augmented-Reality Computing Looks Stupid Cool

We have a habit of filling new technologies with old ideas.

Meet Our Future Robosimian Heroes
From ACM Opinion

Meet Our Future Robosimian Heroes

Not all robots are built for war and destruction.

Is Star Trek Tech Possible?
From ACM Opinion

Is Star Trek Tech Possible?

My friend Veronica Belmont is pretty cool. Nerd, writer, TV host… and now she’s doing an online video series with Engadget called "Dear Veronica," where she answers...

Failure of New ­.s. Weapons Systems May Be More Than Science Fiction
From ACM Opinion

Failure of New ­.s. Weapons Systems May Be More Than Science Fiction

A war between China and America is a favorite subject of armchair military analysts. Why would it happen? How would it play out?

That Time the CIA Bugged a Cat to Spy on the Soviets
From ACM Opinion

That Time the CIA Bugged a Cat to Spy on the Soviets

My favorite story about American spying is one I've never been able to verify with the Central Intelligence Agency, and not for lack of trying.

6 Reasons Why We're ­nderhyping the Internet of Things
From ACM Opinion

6 Reasons Why We're ­nderhyping the Internet of Things

Just when you thought the Internet of Things couldn't possibly live up to its hype, along comes a blockbuster, 142-page report from McKinsey Global Institute ("The...

'minority Report' Interface Designer: Future Tech Needs a Better Dictionary
From ACM Opinion

'minority Report' Interface Designer: Future Tech Needs a Better Dictionary

There's this game I like to play when I'm out reporting. Whenever I’m doing an interview or attending a presentation about virtual or augmented reality, I count...

Should a Driverless Car Decide Who Lives or Dies?
From ACM News

Should a Driverless Car Decide Who Lives or Dies?

The gearheads in Detroit, Tokyo, and Stuttgart have mostly figured out how to build driverless vehicles. Even the Google guys seem to have solved the riddle.

Preserving the Digital Record of Computing History
From Communications of the ACM

Preserving the Digital Record of Computing History

Reflecting on the complexities associated with maintaining rapidly changing information technology.

What Is the Big Secret Surrounding Stingray Surveillance?
From ACM Opinion

What Is the Big Secret Surrounding Stingray Surveillance?

Given the amount of mobile phone traffic that cell phone towers transmit, it is no wonder law enforcement agencies target these devices as a rich source of data...

Humans Are Tech's Next Big Thing—and That Could Be Risky
From ACM Opinion

Humans Are Tech's Next Big Thing—and That Could Be Risky

Internet companies make billions of dollars by capturing one of the world's most precious commodities: your attention.
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