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Social Physics
From ACM Opinion

Social Physics

Since 2001, the Human Dynamics Laboratory at the MIT Media Lab has used digital technologies—from home-brewed portable sensors to cellphone call records—to try...

Remembering Mit, When There Were Just 50 Women in a Class of 1,000
From ACM Opinion

Remembering Mit, When There Were Just 50 Women in a Class of 1,000

When Radia Perlman attended MIT in the late '60s and '70s, she was one of just a few dozen women (about 50) out of a class of 1,000.

Futurist Says We'll ­se Lasers to Beam Our Minds Into Space Someday Soon
From ACM Opinion

Futurist Says We'll ­se Lasers to Beam Our Minds Into Space Someday Soon

The idea of erasing and implanting memories is a common feature of science fiction films such as Total Recall and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

How to Build a Bad Research Center
From Communications of the ACM

How to Build a Bad Research Center

Sharing lessons learned from experiences creating successful multidisciplinary research centers.

The Impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
From Communications of the ACM

The Impact of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities

Codifying human rights and inclusiveness in a technical context for people with disabilities.

'Surfing Toward the Future'
From Communications of the ACM

'Surfing Toward the Future'

A new report from Chile about improving economic competitiveness advances a novel interpretation of innovation. Timing is everything.

Why Software Engineering Courses Should Include Ethics Coverage
From Communications of the ACM

Why Software Engineering Courses Should Include Ethics Coverage

Encouraging students to become comfortable exercising ethical discernment in a professional context with their peers.

Mass Digitization as Fair Use
From Communications of the ACM

Mass Digitization as Fair Use

Considering the implications of the late-2013 ruling in favor of Google in the Authors Guild case.

Asimov's Predictions from 1964: A Brief Report Card
From ACM Opinion

Asimov's Predictions from 1964: A Brief Report Card

Predictions about technology's future are almost always doomed.

How to Get a Job at Google
From ACM Opinion

How to Get a Job at Google

Last June, in an interview with Adam Bryant of The Times, Laszlo Bock, the senior vice president of people operations for Google—i.e., the guy in charge of hiring...

Are the Robots About to Rise?
From ACM Opinion

Are the Robots About to Rise?

It's hard to know where to start with Ray Kurzweil.

The Joy of Teaching Computer Science in the Age of Facebook
From ACM Opinion

The Joy of Teaching Computer Science in the Age of Facebook

Over the last two decades, it can be argued, no area of study has seen larger growth in span and general application than computer science.

Starman
From ACM Opinion

Starman

It was a mild October day in Hollywood, but a trace of artificial snow remained on the ground as Neil deGrasse Tyson, the director of the Hayden Planetarium, at...

Why Startups Should Steal Ideas and Hire Weirdos
From ACM Opinion

Why Startups Should Steal Ideas and Hire Weirdos

The most consistently creative and insightful people are explorers.

Tim Berners-Lee: We Need to Re-Decentralise the Web
From ACM Opinion

Tim Berners-Lee: We Need to Re-Decentralise the Web

Twenty-five years on from the web's inception, its creator has urged the public to re-engage with its original design: a decentralised internet that at its very...

Facebook Turns 10: The Mark Zuckerberg Interview
From ACM Opinion

Facebook Turns 10: The Mark Zuckerberg Interview

Mark Zuckerberg doesn't usually observe sentimental anniversaries.

­dacity Founder: Moocs Can Help the Economy, Even If They Can't Replace College
From ACM Opinion

­dacity Founder: Moocs Can Help the Economy, Even If They Can't Replace College

Sebastian Thrun was instrumental in building Google's self-driving car and Glass projects, and helped launch the company's Google X wing to spearhead "moonshot"...

Ready Technology
From Communications of the ACM

Ready Technology

Fast-tracking emerging business technologies.

Digital Platforms
From Communications of the ACM

Digital Platforms: When Is Participation Valuable?

Assessing the benefits and challenges of knowledge spillovers.

Bugs and Bragging Rights
From Communications of the ACM

Bugs and Bragging Rights

It is not always size that matters.
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