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
Why Today's Inventors Need to Read More Science Fiction
How will police use a gun that immobilizes its target but does not kill? What would people do with a device that could provide them with any mood they desire? What...
From ACM Opinion
Civics For a Digital Age
Over half of the world’s population lives in urban environments, and that number is rapidly growing according to the World Health Organization.
From ACM Opinion
Behold! Jonathan Ive's Apple
Apple is today releasing the much-anticipated iOS 7, and with it, the biggest overhaul of its mobile operating system since it debuted in 2007 with the original...
From ACM Opinion
The 'legalization' of China’s Internet Crackdown
Internet usage—especially microblogging on Sina Weibo, China’s largest Twitter-like social media site—is presenting new challenges and new attempts to meet them...
From ACM Opinion
Forget Moocs
For a year or two there, free online classes seemed like they just might be the future of higher education.
From ACM Opinion
Cryptographers Have an Ethics Problem
Last week, I visited the MIT computer science department looking for a very famous cryptographer.
From ACM Opinion
VCs Doerr and Khosla on Gov't Snooping: It's a Tradeoff
Two of the most influential venture capitalists in Silicon Valley, John Doerr and Vinod Khosla, weighed in on the current controversy government surveillance, contending...
From ACM Opinion
Google Security Exec: 'passwords Are Dead'
New startups looking for ways to keep their users secure should know one thing, a top Google security executive said Tuesday: "Passwords are dead."
From ACM Opinion
Should Students se a Laptop in Class?
There's a widely shared image on the Internet of a teacher's note that says: "Dear students, I know when you're texting in class. Seriously, no one just looks down...
From ACM Opinion
Why a Cyberwar Won't Happen
Exactly two decades ago, the RAND Corporation, an influential think tank, proclaimed that "cyberwar is coming!"
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Surveillance Makes For Strange Bedfellows
The controversy over U.S. government surveillance has produced a king-size collection of strange bedfellows. Beneath the covers one finds both amusing ironies and...
From ACM Opinion
If the New Iphone Has Fingerprint Authentication, Can It Be Hacked?
When Apple bought AuthenTec for its biometrics technology—reported as one of its most expensive purchases—there was a lot of speculation about how the company would...
From ACM Opinion
Nsa's Anti-Encryption Efforts Compromise .s. Security
National Security Agency efforts to overcome encryption of online data weaken American security and undermine the government's duty to protect its own cyberinfrastructure...
From ACM Opinion
Online Data Brokers Know You—surprisingly Well
I'm a middle-aged guy who lives in a house that was built more than 50 years ago.
From ACM Opinion
Online Data Brokers Know You—Surprisingly Well
I'm a middle-aged guy who lives in a house that was built more than 50 years ago.
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Surveillance: A Guide to Staying Secure
Now that we have enough details about how the NSA eavesdrops on the Internet, including today's disclosures of the NSA's deliberate weakening of cryptographic systems...
From ACM Opinion
Why the .s. Should se Cyber Weapons Against Syria
If the Obama administration does conduct military strikes against Syria, as seems likely, it should use military cyber weapons at the earliest possible moment to...
From ACM Opinion