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Humans in Computing
From Communications of the ACM

Humans in Computing: Growing Responsibilities For Researchers

Considering the role of institutional review boards in computing research.

A Technician Shortage
From Communications of the ACM

A Technician Shortage

In our elation about rising CS enrollments, we are overlooking a growing shortage of computing technicians. Our education system is not responding to this need.

Reaching a Broader Population of Students Through 'Unplugged' Activities
From Communications of the ACM

Reaching a Broader Population of Students Through 'Unplugged' Activities

Introducing children to fundamental computing concepts through Computer Science Unplugged.

Copyrightability of Java APIs Revisited
From Communications of the ACM

Copyrightability of Java APIs Revisited

A recent case challenges the long-standing view that application program interfaces are not protectable under copyright law.

Frank Drake Thinks It's Silly to Send Messages to Et
From ACM Opinion

Frank Drake Thinks It's Silly to Send Messages to Et

Making contact with aliens: the subject of many a sci-fi story, and a variety of imagined outcomes. Though no one knows what will happen if we encounter intelligent...

Secrets Become History: Edward Snowden in Citizenfour Wins Documentary Oscar
From ACM Opinion

Secrets Become History: Edward Snowden in Citizenfour Wins Documentary Oscar

Citizenfour is filmmaker Laura Poitras' account of the first meetings between herself, Glenn Greenwald, and Edward Snowden.

What 'the Imitation Game' Didn't Tell You About Turing's Greatest Triumph
From ACM Opinion

What 'the Imitation Game' Didn't Tell You About Turing's Greatest Triumph

Freeman Dyson, 91, the famed physicist, author and oracle of human destiny, is holding forth after tea-time one February afternoon in the common room of the Institute...

The Robot That Knows When to Swipe Right
From ACM Opinion

The Robot That Knows When to Swipe Right

I have come to think of Tinder as a sort algorithm for the mind.

How to Fight the Next $1 Billion Bank Hack
From ACM Opinion

How to Fight the Next $1 Billion Bank Hack

Good news! A major hack you don't have to worry about! Unless, that is, you happen to be an executive or security employee at one of the hundreds of banks targeted...

Astro Teller, Google's ‘captain of Moonshots,' on Making Profits at Google X
From ACM Opinion

Astro Teller, Google's ‘captain of Moonshots,' on Making Profits at Google X

Google is all over the place.

Work in an Age of Robots
From ACM Opinion

Work in an Age of Robots

What you are about to read was written by a human. Honest.

The Technion’s Peretz Lavie on Technology and Education
From ACM Opinion

The Technion’s Peretz Lavie on Technology and Education

What Stanford University is to Silicon Valley, the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is to Israel’s booming tech sector.

The Future of Virtual Sex
From ACM Opinion

The Future of Virtual Sex

Is another human being necessary for satisfying sex?

Google, Mighty Now, but Not Forever
From ACM Opinion

Google, Mighty Now, but Not Forever

Technology giants often meet their end not with a bang but a whimper, a slow, imperceptible descent into irrelevancy that may not immediately be reflected in the...

How Moore's Law Made Google Possible
From ACM Opinion

How Moore's Law Made Google Possible

Gordon Moore's famous calculation of the gains in power and economy that would drive chip production continues to have profound implications for every enterprise...

Will the Internet of Things Finally Kill Privacy?
From ACM Opinion

Will the Internet of Things Finally Kill Privacy?

In the internet of things, the Federal Trade Commission sees the possibility of flourishing new markets. But it also sees a prologue to Black Mirror: in a new report...

Sen. Ed Markey On Protecting Data Our Cars Are Sharing
From ACM Opinion

Sen. Ed Markey On Protecting Data Our Cars Are Sharing

Cars and trucks today are computers, and a new report overseen by Sen. Ed Markey, D-Mass., comes with a warning: As more vehicles have wireless connections, the...

Our Fear of Artificial Intelligence
From ACM Opinion

Our Fear of Artificial Intelligence

Years ago I had coffee with a friend who ran a startup.

J. Craig Venter on Dna and Life's Mysteries
From ACM Opinion

J. Craig Venter on Dna and Life's Mysteries

J. Craig Venter is in the life business.

Nanotech Pioneer Langer Wins Award By Thinking Small
From ACM Opinion

Nanotech Pioneer Langer Wins Award By Thinking Small

Bioengineer Robert Langer has spent his career looking for the next not-so-big thing.
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