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 Communications of the ACM
Scale or Fail
Moving beyond self-selected computer science education in Switzerland.
From ACM Opinion
What the History of Math Can Teach s About the Future of AI
Whenever an impressive new technology comes along, people rush to imagine the havoc it could wreak on society, and they overreact. Today we see this happening with...
From ACM Opinion
A Revealer of Secrets in the Data of Life and the niverse
In statistics, abstract math meets real life. To find meaning in unruly sets of raw numbers, statisticians like Donald Richards first look for associations: statistical...
From ACM Careers
Tom Lehrer at 90: A Life of Scientific Satire
In 1959, the mathematician and satirist Tom Lehrer—who turns 90 this month—performed what he characteristically called a "completely pointless" scientific song...
From ACM Opinion
Here's How the S Needs to Prepare for the Age of Artificial Intelligence
Politicians worldwide are stealing one of the US government's best ideas by drawing up ambitious plans to make the most of advances in artificial intelligence. ...
From ACM Opinion
The Scientific Paper Is Obsolete
The scientific paper—the actual form of it—was one of the enabling inventions of modernity. Before it was developed in the 1600s, results were communicated privately...
From Communications of the ACM
Smartphones, Contents of the Mind, and the Fifth Amendment
Exploring the connection qualities between smartphones and their users.
From Communications of the ACM
Business Ecosystems: How Do They Matter for Innovation?
Considering the significant interrelationship of innovation, corporate strategy, and public policy for business ecosystems.
From ACM Opinion
To Illustrate the Dangers of Cyberwarfare, the Army Is Turning to Sci-Fi
At first glance, Dark Hammer looks a lot like any other science fiction comic book: On the front cover, a drone flies over a river dividing a city with damaged...
From ACM Opinion
Med Students Are Getting Terrible Training in Robotic Surgery
If you think your on-the-job training was tough, imagine what life is like for newbie surgeons.
From ACM Opinion
How to Make A.I. Human-Friendly
For a field that was not well known outside of academia a decade ago, artificial intelligence has grown dizzyingly fast. Tech companies from Silicon Valley to Beijing...
From ACM Opinion
Bioengineers Today Emphasize the Crucial Ingredient Dr. Frankenstein Forgot: Responsibility
Mary Shelley was 20 when she published "Frankenstein" in 1818. Two hundred years on, the book remains thrilling, challenging and relevant—especially for scientists...
From ACM Opinion
The Limits of Explainability
When we look at a stack of blocks or a stack of Oreos, we intuitively have a sense of how stable it is, whether it might fall over, and in what direction it may...
From ACM Opinion
Tech Companies Should Stop Pretending AI Won't Destroy Jobs
I took an Uber to an artificial-intelligence conference at MIT one recent morning, and the driver asked me how long it would take for autonomous vehicles to take...
From ACM Opinion
This 'Gray Hat' Hacker Breaks Into Your Car, to Prove a Point
Cybercrime is expanding beyond computers and cellphones. Cars, washers and dryers, and even toasters are going online—an evolution of technology called the ...
From Communications of the ACM
Computational Social Science ≠ Computer Science + Social Data
The important intersection of computer science and social science.
From Communications of the ACM