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How Scientifically Plausible Is 'star Trek'?
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,...

Orwell Was Right: Oliver Stone on What Makes Snowden Exciting
From ACM Opinion

Orwell Was Right: Oliver Stone on What Makes Snowden Exciting

Oliver Stone wants you to know he's not an activist.

A New Look at the Semantic Web
From Communications of the ACM

A New Look at the Semantic Web

Seeking to make Web data "smarter" by utilizing a new kind of semantics.

Designing AI Systems that Obey Our Laws and Values
From Communications of the ACM

Designing AI Systems that Obey Our Laws and Values

Calling for research on automatic oversight for artificial intelligence systems.

At 25, the World Wide Web Is Still a Long Way From Reality
From ACM Opinion

At 25, the World Wide Web Is Still a Long Way From Reality

Twenty-five years ago today, Tim Berners-Lee unleashed the World Wide Web, publishing the first public webpage. Well, maybe.

Tim Cook: Running Apple 'is Sort of a Lonely Job'
From ACM Opinion

Tim Cook: Running Apple 'is Sort of a Lonely Job'

On a sleek white coffee table in Apple CEO Tim Cook's fourth-floor office in late July, beneath framed posters of Robert F. Kennedy, the Rev. Martin Luther King...

What Virtual Reality Is Good For
From ACM Opinion

What Virtual Reality Is Good For

After years as a punchline, virtual reality is enjoying a renaissance. Venture capitalists plowed $1.2 billion into virtual-reality and augmented-reality startups...

All Alone in No Man's Sky
From ACM Opinion

All Alone in No Man's Sky

If reality is a game—a vast, snow-globe-y sort of experiment that plays out according to the hard rules of physics and the loose rules of story—then it is, in contemporary...

The Doom of Your Memories Doesn't Really Exist
From ACM Opinion

The Doom of Your Memories Doesn't Really Exist

If you played Doom during its heyday in the 90s, I have some disappointing news: it's not as frightening as you remember.

The Science That Fed Frankenstein
From ACM Opinion

The Science That Fed Frankenstein

In 1816, a teenager began to compose what many view as the first true work of science fiction—and unleashed one of the most subversive attacks on modern science...

The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter
From ACM Opinion

The Return of Arthur C. Clarke's Fantastic Vision of Jupiter

The Juno space probe is now in orbit around Jupiter, meaning space buffs around the world are eagerly awaiting whatever new data the probe sends back.

Pokémon Go Will Make You Crave Augmented Reality
From ACM Opinion

Pokémon Go Will Make You Crave Augmented Reality

It started as an April Fool's joke.

Cozmo Is an Artificially Intelligent Toy Truck That's Also the Future of Robotics
From ACM Opinion

Cozmo Is an Artificially Intelligent Toy Truck That's Also the Future of Robotics

Hanns Tappeiner types a few lines of code into his laptop and hits "return."

Meet the Smartest, Cutest AI-Powered Robot You've Ever Seen
From ACM Opinion

Meet the Smartest, Cutest AI-Powered Robot You've Ever Seen

Boris Sofman taps his phone, and the robot on the conference room table in front of him wakes up. Not in that gadget-y way, like when a laptop screen turns on,...

Turing's Red Flag
From Communications of the ACM

Turing's Red Flag

A proposal for a law to prevent artificial intelligence systems from being mistaken for humans.

The Lopsided Geography of Wikipedia
From ACM Opinion

The Lopsided Geography of Wikipedia

Think about how often, in the course of a week, you visit Wikipedia.

Smart Tampon? The Internet of Every Single Thing Must Be Stopped
From ACM Opinion

Smart Tampon? The Internet of Every Single Thing Must Be Stopped

Let's play a game. Which of the following is a real smartphone-connected product?

My 10 Favorite Books: Bill Gates
From ACM Opinion

My 10 Favorite Books: Bill Gates

"Seveneves," Neal Stephenson: This novel about how the human race responds to the end of life on Earth rekindled my love for sci-fi. Some readers will lose patience...

How Will Virtual Reality Change Our Lives?
From ACM Opinion

How Will Virtual Reality Change Our Lives?

And it's not just gamers who are benefiting from the immersive possibilities it offers.

What If Facebook Gave ­S an Opposing-Viewpoints Button?
From ACM Opinion

What If Facebook Gave ­S an Opposing-Viewpoints Button?

Imagine if you could flip a switch on Facebook, and turn all the conservative viewpoints that you see liberal, or vice versa. You'd realize your news might look...
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