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
What Big Data Will Never Explain
"She told him that she loves me, which is an important data point."
From ACM Opinion
A Leader of Obama's New Brain Initiative Explains Why We Need It
Neuroscientist William Newsome of Stanford University is one of two scientists tapped by President Obama to lead a new brain research initiative, which the administration...
From ACM Opinion
Save a Soccer Referee. Hire a Machine to Rule on Goals.
Referees are the worst. Anyone who plays, coaches, or watches sports will agree. They call either too little or too much. They're blind, stupid, paid off, or just...
From ACM Opinion
You'll Never Believe the Data 'wiped' Smartphones Store
Few things are more precious, intimate, and personal than the data on your smartphone.
From ACM Opinion
What Next For the 'quantified Self'?
The quantified self movement—the idea that tracking metrics about yourself can lead to self-improvement—appears to be gathering steam.
From ACM Opinion
Yahoo Buys News App from British Teenager For a Reported $30 Million
When Yahoo was founded in 1995, Nick D'Aloisio wasn't even born yet. He says he taught himself to program computers using books and video tutorials.
From ACM Opinion
The Promise and Perils of a Datafied World
In a former life I was a research assistant. After painstaking weeks spent gathering data, I was tasked with putting the numbers into a statistics application that...
From Communications of the ACM
Are the Costs of 'Free' Too High in Online Education?
Considering the economic implications as educational institutions expand online learning initiatives.
From Communications of the ACM
Peacebuilding in a Networked World
Harnessing computing and communication technologies in fragile, conflict-stressed nations.
From Communications of the ACM
The Problem with Hands-Free Dashboard Cellphones
Lawmakers misunderstand user experience of technology interface.
From ACM Opinion
Why It's Time For Our Devices to nderstand What We Mean, Not Just What We Say
It wasn’t just cost and Moore’s law. The graphical user interface—now known as the GUI ("gooey")—is what really made computing widespread, personal and ubiquitous...
From ACM Opinion
The Era of Deep Archiving Begins
As a Dartmouth student in the early 1970s, William McDonough went, somewhat casually, to hear a lecture by a visiting celebrity. Mr. McDonough had little idea beforehand...
From ACM Opinion
Googling You
The settlement last week between a group of state attorneys general and Google over the company’s improper data collection from home wireless networks shows the...
From ACM Careers
10 Companies Chasing Innovations That Really Matter
PayPal co-founder Max Levchin faced some flak recently when he announced he was starting a new company in the already crowded field of digital payments.
From ACM Opinion
From 'wargames' to Aaron Swartz: How .s. Anti-Hacking Law Went Astray
Aaron Swartz, the Internet activist who committed suicide while facing the possibility of a felony criminal conviction, was prosecuted under a law that was never...
From ACM Opinion
Google's 10 Rules For Designing Data Centers
Google has long pushed the envelope of data center infrastructure design, particularly when it comes to renewable energy, efficient cooling, new power electronics...
From ACM Opinion
Rethinking Objects and Form Are Key to 3D Printing Revolution
3D printing has already changed the game for manufacturing specialized products such as medical devices but the real revolution will come when designers start to...
From ACM Opinion
Can Your Boss Read Your Email?
Harvard faculty members responded with shock after the Boston Globe revealed that theuniversity’s administration had searched 16 faculty deans’ email accounts to...
From ACM News
Everything We Know About What Data Brokers Know About You
Data companies are scooping up enormous amounts of information about almost every American. They sell information about whether you're pregnant or divorced or trying...
From ACM Opinion