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Driverless Cars Could Make Transportation Free For Everyone, With a Catch
From ACM Opinion

Driverless Cars Could Make Transportation Free For Everyone, With a Catch

As self-driving cars inch closer to everyday reality, journalists, futurists, economists, and ethicists have weighed in with numerous predictions about autonomous...

How Law and Computer Science Can Work Together to Improve the Information Society
From Communications of the ACM

How Law and Computer Science Can Work Together to Improve the Information Society

Seeking to remedy bad legislation with good science.

The Year the Home Button Died
From ACM Opinion

The Year the Home Button Died

The most convincing lie Steve Jobs ever told was "you already know how to use it."

We Ignore Iran at Our Peril
From ACM Opinion

We Ignore Iran at Our Peril

When it comes to cyberweapons, America is an elephant and Iran is a flea. Still, a flea can be a persistent nuisance, especially for the unprotected.

Don't Get Your Kid an Internet-Connected Toy
From ACM Opinion

Don't Get Your Kid an Internet-Connected Toy

For last-minute shoppers, tech toys hold a special appeal.

Satya Nadella on Ai, Sexual Harassment, and Microsoft's Soul
From ACM Opinion

Satya Nadella on Ai, Sexual Harassment, and Microsoft's Soul

Microsoft Chief Executive Officer Satya Nadella is putting his own stamp on the tech giant once led by Bill Gates and Steve Ballmer.

Augmented Reality's Real Power Will Come From Substance, Not Flash
From ACM Opinion

Augmented Reality's Real Power Will Come From Substance, Not Flash

Last week the pilot light for my water heater went out. I tried to relight it by following the instructions pasted on the side of the heater, but they were as inscrutable...

The Bitcoin Boom: In Code We Trust
From ACM Opinion

The Bitcoin Boom: In Code We Trust

You don't need brilliant financial analysis skills to notice that Bitcoin is in a bubble.

Goodbye Internet: How Regional Divides ­pended the World Wide Web
From ACM Opinion

Goodbye Internet: How Regional Divides ­pended the World Wide Web

So, there you have it: 2017 was the year that finally broke the internet.

Five Priorities For Weather and Climate Research
From ACM Opinion

Five Priorities For Weather and Climate Research

Meteorology is entering a new era. Demand is growing worldwide for forecasts of storms, floods and droughts.

Artificial Intelligence Is Killing the ­ncanny Valley and Our Grasp on Reality
From ACM Opinion

Artificial Intelligence Is Killing the ­ncanny Valley and Our Grasp on Reality

There's a revolution afoot, and you will know it by the stripes.

Beyond Bitcoin: How Technology Could Help Fix Our Broken Financial System
From ACM Opinion

Beyond Bitcoin: How Technology Could Help Fix Our Broken Financial System

On a spring day more than 5,000 years ago in the Mesopotamian city of Ur, a foreign merchant sold his wares in exchange for a large bundle of silver.

As AI and Robots Rise Up, Do Humans Need an Upgrade Too?
From ACM Opinion

As AI and Robots Rise Up, Do Humans Need an Upgrade Too?

There is a chip implanted in my hand. I'm serious.

Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids
From ACM Opinion

Why These Friendly Robots Can't Be Good Friends to Our Kids

Jibo the robot swivels around when it hears its name and tilts its touchscreen face upward, expectantly.

A ­nified Theory of Meme Death
From ACM Opinion

A ­nified Theory of Meme Death

Memes aren't built to last. This is an accepted fact of online life.

Quantum Computing Is the Next Big Security Risk
From ACM Opinion

Quantum Computing Is the Next Big Security Risk

The 20th century gave birth to the Nuclear Age as the power of the atom was harnessed and unleashed.

What I Learned from the People Who Built the Atom Bomb
From ACM Opinion

What I Learned from the People Who Built the Atom Bomb

When I began my career in elementary particle physics, the great figures who taught and inspired me had been part of the Manhattan Project generation that developed...

How Hardy Is Webb? A Q&a About the Toughness of Nasa's Webb Telescope
From ACM Opinion

How Hardy Is Webb? A Q&a About the Toughness of Nasa's Webb Telescope

Just how resilient does a space telescope have to be to survive both Earth's environment and the frigid, airless environment of space?

Could Intelligent Machines of the Future Own the Rights to Their Own creations?
From ACM Opinion

Could Intelligent Machines of the Future Own the Rights to Their Own creations?

Intellectual property may be the legal term for creations, including literary or artistic, but there is something inherently human about it as well. 

The Mission to Learn Everything We Always Wanted to Know About the Universe
From ACM Opinion

The Mission to Learn Everything We Always Wanted to Know About the Universe

The Cosmic Microwave Background was created as the first atoms formed hundreds of thousands of years after the Big Bang, and it retains information about the formation...
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