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
With New Technology, Mathematicians Turn Numbers Into art
Once upon a time, mathematicians imagined their job was to discover new mathematics and then let others explain it.
From ACM Opinion
The Inventor of the Web Predicts 'a Massive Outcry' Over Online Privacy
More than two decades ago, Tim Berners-Lee invented the thing you're using to read this story right now—the World Wide Web.
From ACM Opinion
In kraine, Russia Weaponizes Fake News to Fight a Real War
As the Russian shells and rockets rained down on them in the front-line town of Debaltseve in February 2015, Ukrainian troops began to receive curious, anonymous...
From ACM Opinion
What If We Had Perfect Robot Referees
Last month, Mark Clattenburg, who is generally regarded as one of the finest referees in professional soccer, left England's Premier League for a better-paying...
From ACM Opinion
What to Expect Now That Internet Providers Can Collect and Sell Your Web Browser History
After Congress handed President Trump legislation Tuesday that would wipe away landmark privacy protections for Internet users, we received a lot of reader questions...
From ACM Opinion
Ghost in the Sell: Hollywood's Mischievous Vision of AI
Watch enough science fiction movies and you'll probably come to the conclusion that humans are living on borrowed time.
From ACM Opinion
How the Republicans Sold Your Privacy to Internet Providers
On Tuesday afternoon, while most people were focused on the latest news from the House Intelligence Committee, the House quietly voted to undo rules that keep internet...
From ACM Opinion
War By Any Means: The Story of DARPA
Shortly after arriving at the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in April 1958, the new chief scientist presented a plan to the agency's director.
From ACM Opinion
The Trump Administration's War on Science
"Think of the marvels we can achieve if we simply set free the dreams of our people," President Trump said in his speech to Congress last month, after summoning...
From ACM Opinion
The Battle For Top AI Talent Only Gets Tougher From Here
Andrew Ng helped create two of Silicon Valley's leading artificial intelligence labs.
From ACM Opinion
No, Microwave Ovens Cannot Spy on You, For Lots of Reasons
If you've been feeling a little paranoid lately—like even your standing mixer may be spying on you—rest assured that Trump senior counselor Kellyanne Conway shares...
From ACM Opinion
Are Teenagers Replacing Drugs With Smartphones?
Amid an opioid epidemic, the rise of deadly synthetic drugs and the widening legalization of marijuana, a curious bright spot has emerged in the youth drug culture...
From ACM Opinion
This Entrepreneur Dares You to Hack His Gadgets
Serial entrepreneur Andrew "Bunnie" Huang believes that consumer product companies should make their hardware designs publicly available so that anyone can study...
From ACM Opinion
Wikileaks' Attack on .s. Intelligence
Tuesday's WikiLeaks release exposing thousands of detailed documents on CIA hacking tools is an unbridled attack on U.S. intelligence operations with little or...
From ACM Opinion
'this Is an All Hands on Deck Thing': A Former Obama Technology Adviser on Robots, Jobs and Cyberwarfare
During the Obama administration, R. David Edelman was one of the president's top advisers. As a part of Obama's National Security Council and his National Economic...
From ACM Opinion
Trump's Wiretap Rant Betrays Ignorance of the Law
President Donald Trump set the political and national security community on fire Saturday morning, starting the day with a four-part Twitter rant alleging that...
From ACM Opinion
The Wisdom of Nokia's Dumbphone
They weighed heavy in pockets and jackets and bags, for they were thick and bulky, not lithe and narrow.
From ACM Opinion
Boston Dynamics' New Rolling, Leaping Robot Is an Evolutionary Marvel
If you're ever feeling down, do yourself a favor and watch some footage from the 2015 Darpa Robotics Challenge.
From ACM Opinion
Listen, Technology Holdouts: Enough Is Enough
Even as fanatic customers can be counted on to line up outside the Apple store for the latest iPhone, there are still millions of Americans who don't use a smartphone...
From ACM Opinion