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
Cyber Spy High: Meet the Nsa's Hacker Recruiter
The National Security Agency has a recruiting problem.
From ACM Opinion
How Humans Could Inhabit the Solar System
With our rising planet's population competing for space and resources, some people are convinced we need to look beyond Earth to help ensure humanity's survival...
From ACM Opinion
What It Will Take For Computers to Be Conscious
Is a worm conscious? How about a bumblebee? Does a computer that can play chess "feel" anything?
From ACM Opinion
'glass Brain' Offers Tours of the Space Between Your Ears
Former Grateful Dead percussionist Mickey Hart takes pride in his brain.
From ACM Opinion
Cyborgs: The Truth About Human Augmentation
At the height of summer, when London was baking in unseasonable heat, I made an ill-fated trip to the Serpentine lido in central London.
From ACM Opinion
The Toughest Case: What If Osama Bin Laden Had an Iphone?
In rebuking Apple and Google for their new smartphone encryption polices on Thursday, FBI Director James B. Comey became the latest law enforcement official to...
From ACM Opinion
When Everything Works Like Your Cell Phone
Everyone understands what it means to own a plunger.
From ACM Opinion
A Computer Scientist Tells Mathematicians How To Write Proofs
Believe it or not, I do have friends who would describe themselves as not liking math, and every so often one of them will share this meme on Facebook: And then...
From ACM Opinion
Three Questions with the Ceo of D-Wave
Vern Brownell, CEO of quantum computing startup D-Wave, says the company now has customers using its computers to tackle real problems.
From ACM Opinion
Virtual Reality Is More Than Just Video Games For Palmer Luckey
Palmer Luckey is on top of the world.
From ACM Opinion
The History of the Predator, the Drone that Changed the World
These days, the word drone is used to refer to just about any kind of remote-controlled, unmanned aircraft.
From ACM Opinion
Why Is Our Sci-Fi So Glum About A.i.?
When I was 12, I invented a superhero named Boy Genius, a guy my age who awakens one morning with access to 100 percent of his brain power.
From ACM Opinion
Visualizing 4-Dimensional Asteroids
One of the largest treasure troves of astronomical data comes from the Sloan Digital Sky Survey (SDSS), an ongoing scan of the firmament that began 15 years ago...
From ACM Opinion
Technology Stalled in 1970
Peter Thiel has been behind some prominent technologies: he cofounded PayPal and was an early investor in such companies as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Tesla Motors...
From ACM Opinion
College Students Learning Cobol Make More Money
Yes, you read the title of this column correctly.
From ACM Opinion
Tim Cook Interview: The Iphone 6, the Apple Watch, and Remaking a Company's Culture
Steve Jobs’s office remains Steve Jobs's office.
From ACM Opinion
Julian Assange on Snowden, Disliking Google, and His 'inevitable' Freedom
It would be too much to say that WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange feels optimistic.
From ACM Opinion
Nsa Chief on Tech-Savvy Islamic State: 'i'm Watching'
While U.S. military leaders appeared before Congress to outline their strategy to fight Islamic State militants on the battlefield, the National Security Agency...
From ACM Opinion
The $3.2 Billion Man: Can Google's Newest Star Outsmart Apple?
Lounging poolside in 93-degree July heat as Daft Punk's "Get Lucky" thrums through the patio speakers, Tony Fadell takes a sip of nonalcoholic beer and sinks far...
From ACM Opinion