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
Microsoft's Top Lawyer Becomes a Civil Rights Crusader
When Apple CEO Tim Cook refused to help the FBI get into a mass murderer's iPhone last winter, he was hailed for his boldness in fighting the government on ...
From ACM Opinion
The Worlds of H. G. Wells
Herbert George Wells (1866–1946) occupies a singular place in science and culture.
From ACM Opinion
Paperless Voting Could Fuel 'rigged' Election Claims
Voters in four competitive states will cast ballots in November on electronic machines that leave no paper trail—a lapse that threatens to sow distrust about a...
From ACM Opinion
The Do-Not-Call List Has a Gaping Hole
Sure, legitimate telemarketers will refrain from calling you if you've put your phone number on it. But criminal telephone spammers will call you anyway because...
From ACM Opinion
How Scientifically Plausible Is 'star Trek'?
"Star Trek" turns 50 on Sept. 8, and instead of buying it a fancy sports car, our mission is to boldly go down the "Star Trek" rabbit hole, or rather, wormhole,...
From ACM Opinion
Before Apple And Facebook, There Was Something More Revolutionary
It's easy to think that the modern era in communication began in the 1990s with the birth of the Internet.
From ACM Opinion
The Next President Will Decide the Fate of Killer Robots, and the Future of War
The next president will have a range of issues on their plate, from how to deal with growing tensions with China and Russia, to an ongoing war against ISIS.
From ACM Opinion
Everyone Gets the Future Wrong: Lo and Behold Movie Review
Hackers? Check. Driverless cars? Check. SpaceX? Check. Robots? Check. Elon Musk? Check. ARPANET? Check. Video game addicts? Check. Brainscans? Check. Internet of...
From ACM Opinion
How an Inventor You've Probably Never Heard of Shaped the Modern World
Many of the inventors who fueled the digital revolution have become household names.
From ACM Opinion
How Tech Giants Are Devising Real Ethics For Artificial Intelligence
For years, science-fiction moviemakers have been making us fear the bad things that artificially intelligent machines might do to their human creators.
From ACM Opinion
Here's How Russian Hackers Could Actually Tip an American Election
Reports this week of Russian intrusions into U.S. election systems have startled many voters, but computer experts are not surprised.
From ACM Opinion
Why Russian Hackers Probably Can't Mess with the .s. Election
State-sponsored Russian hackers appear to be behind attacks on voter databases in Arizona and Illinois.
From ACM Opinion
Orwell Was Right: Oliver Stone on What Makes Snowden Exciting
Oliver Stone wants you to know he's not an activist.
From ACM Opinion
How Electronic Voting Could ndermine the Election
It's 2016: What possible reason is there to vote on paper? When we use touchscreens to communicate, work, and shop, why can't we use similar technology to vote?
From ACM Opinion
The Hype, and Hope, of Artificial Intelligence
Earlier this month, on his HBO show "Last Week Tonight," John Oliver skewered media companies' desperate search for clicks.
From ACM News
All the Ways Your Wi-Fi Router Can Spy on You
City dwellers spend nearly every moment of every day awash in Wi-Fi signals.
From ACM Opinion
20 Big Questions About the Future of Humanity
1. Does humanity have a future beyond Earth?
From ACM Opinion
You'll Never Guess This One Crazy Thing Governs Online Speech
Early last week, Twitter announced that it would be using new tools to curb hate speech and harassment on its site.
From Communications of the ACM
Helping Conference Attendees Better Understand Research Presentations
Sharing lessons learned from a lecture program for making technical material more accessible to conference attendees.
From Communications of the ACM