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Earth, the Final Frontier
From ACM Opinion

Earth, the Final Frontier

On April 1, 1960, the newly established National Aeronautics and Space Administration heaved a 270-pound box of electronics into Earth orbit.

Robots Won't Kill the Workforce. They'll Save the Global Economy.
From ACM Opinion

Robots Won't Kill the Workforce. They'll Save the Global Economy.

The United Nations forecasts that the global population will rise from 7.3 billion to nearly 10 billion by 2050, a big number that often prompts warnings about...

What Is 'military Artificial Intelligence'? 
From ACM Opinion

What Is 'military Artificial Intelligence'? 

We are in an era of existential fear of technology.

Trump's First 100 Days: Technology, Privacy and Intelligence 
From ACM Opinion

Trump's First 100 Days: Technology, Privacy and Intelligence 

President-elect Donald Trump's views on technology and tech policy were not prominent campaign features on his contentious path to the White House.

Beyond Touch: Tomorrow's Devices Will ­se Mems ­ltrasound to Hear Your Gestures
From ACM Opinion

Beyond Touch: Tomorrow's Devices Will ­se Mems ­ltrasound to Hear Your Gestures

Today, we control our electronic world by touch—we tap, we swipe, we pinch and zoom.

The New Words That Expose Our Smartphone Obsessions
From ACM Opinion

The New Words That Expose Our Smartphone Obsessions

New words sometimes skewer a trend so perfectly you wonder how you survived without them. One of the most delightfully apt new phrases I've found in the last few...

Genevieve Bell: 'humanity's Greatest Fear Is About Being Irrelevant'
From ACM Opinion

Genevieve Bell: 'humanity's Greatest Fear Is About Being Irrelevant'

Genevieve Bell is an Australian anthropologist who has been working at tech company Intel for 18 years, where she is currently head of sensing and insights.

Misinformation on Social Media: Can Technology Save us?
From ACM Opinion

Misinformation on Social Media: Can Technology Save us?

If you get your news from social media, as most Americans do, you are exposed to a daily dose of hoaxes, rumors, conspiracy theories and misleading news.

Trump's Populism Is Only the Beginning. Here Come the Robots. 
From ACM Opinion

Trump's Populism Is Only the Beginning. Here Come the Robots. 

Donald Trump's win is a wake-up call that voters are angry with a system that's made middle-class jobs tougher to come by, and increased inequality.

Why Facebook Can't Fix Fake News
From ACM Opinion

Why Facebook Can't Fix Fake News

Imagine going on Facebook and finding no political posts—just your friends and their updates.

Facebook Fake News Row: Mark Zuckerberg Is a Politician Now
From ACM Opinion

Facebook Fake News Row: Mark Zuckerberg Is a Politician Now

I've long suspected that Mark Zuckerberg, who often refers to himself as the "leader" of Facebook, has dreams of high office.

Manufacturing Jobs Aren't Coming Back
From ACM Opinion

Manufacturing Jobs Aren't Coming Back

Pundits will debate the wellsprings of Donald Trump's election triumph for years.

Richard Dawkins and Other Prominent Scientists React to Trump's Win
From ACM Opinion

Richard Dawkins and Other Prominent Scientists React to Trump's Win

This week the U.S. elected businessman and reality TV star Donald Trump as its 45th president. As Scientific American has reported in the run-up to the election...

Silicon Valley Reels After Trump's Election
From ACM Opinion

Silicon Valley Reels After Trump's Election

Silicon Valley's luminaries woke up Wednesday morning to a darkened new global order, one that the ceaseless optimism of their tech-powered visions seemed suddenly...

How Data Failed ­S in Calling an Election
From ACM Opinion

How Data Failed ­S in Calling an Election

It was a rough night for number crunchers. And for the faith that people in every field—business, politics, sports and academia—have increasingly placed in the...

How Donald Trump Will Dismantle Obama's Internet Legacy
From ACM Opinion

How Donald Trump Will Dismantle Obama's Internet Legacy

President-elect Donald Trump could eviscerate some of the most significant tech policies of the 21st century, all but erasing President Obama's Internet agenda...

Trump’s Win Signals Open Season for Russia's Political Hackers
From ACM Opinion

Trump’s Win Signals Open Season for Russia's Political Hackers

Yesterday, America elected as president the apparently preferred candidate of Russia's intelligence agencies.

What We've Learned About the Media Industry During This Election
From ACM Opinion

What We've Learned About the Media Industry During This Election

When the 2016 campaign began, legacy news organizations already faced dim industry projections.

What the Trump Win Means For Tech, Science, and Beyond
From ACM Opinion

What the Trump Win Means For Tech, Science, and Beyond

Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump defeated Democrat Hillary Clinton. Trump will now become the 45th president, succeeding President Barack Obama.

Time to Dump Time Zones
From ACM Opinion

Time to Dump Time Zones

We will awaken Sunday to yet another disturbance in the chronosphere—our twice-yearly jolt from resetting the clocks, mechanical and biological.
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