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Robot Weapons: What's the Harm?
From ACM Opinion

Robot Weapons: What's the Harm?

Last month over a thousand scientists and tech-world luminaries, including Elon Musk, Stephen Hawking and Steve Wozniak, released an open letter calling for a global...

Humans, Not Robots, Are the Real Reason Artificial Intelligence Is Scary
From ACM Opinion

Humans, Not Robots, Are the Real Reason Artificial Intelligence Is Scary

Unfortunately, much of the recent outcry against artificial-intelligence weapons has been confused, conjuring robot takeovers of mankind.

Will Artificial Intelligence Surpass Our Own?
From ACM Opinion

Will Artificial Intelligence Surpass Our Own?

Famed science-fiction writer Fredric Brown (1906–1972) delighted in creating the shortest of short stories. "Answer," published in 1954, encapsulated a prescient...

Palmer Luckey: Making Virtual Reality a Reality
From ACM Opinion

Palmer Luckey: Making Virtual Reality a Reality

"Why shouldn't people be able to teleport wherever they want?" asks Palmer Luckey, the 22-year-old founder of Oculus VR, the virtual-reality company that Facebook...

For Virtual-Reality Movies, Old Methods Don't Fit New Medium
From ACM News

For Virtual-Reality Movies, Old Methods Don't Fit New Medium

I'm standing on the bow of what looks to be a sunken pirate ship.

The Backbone of the Internet Could Detect Earthquakes, but No One's ­sing It
From ACM News

The Backbone of the Internet Could Detect Earthquakes, but No One's ­sing It

December 26, 2004: It is an idyllic morning at a beachside resort in Indonesia.

With Google as Alphabet, a Bid to Dream Big Beyond Search
From ACM Opinion

With Google as Alphabet, a Bid to Dream Big Beyond Search

Shortly after its founding, Google posted a document on its site called "Ten things we know to be true," an effort to distill its unusual corporate culture into...

What a Comet Looks Like … From 9 Meters Away!
From ACM News

What a Comet Looks Like … From 9 Meters Away!

The European Space Agency has just released some fantastic close-up images taken by the Philae lander of the comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko.

Is Artificial Intelligence Really an Existential Threat to Humanity?
From ACM Opinion

Is Artificial Intelligence Really an Existential Threat to Humanity?

Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies is an astonishing book with an alarming thesis: Intelligent machines are "quite possibly the most important and most...

Obama Orders Effort to Build First Exascale Computer
From ACM Opinion

Obama Orders Effort to Build First Exascale Computer

The United States is now committed to building an exascale computer, some 30 times more powerful than today’s top machine.

16 Trends That Will Define the Future of Video Games
From ACM Opinion

16 Trends That Will Define the Future of Video Games

Hundreds of game developers, publishers and analysts recently descended on Brighton for the annual Develop conference.

The Web-Connected Car Is Cool, ­ntil Hackers Cut Your Brakes
From ACM Opinion

The Web-Connected Car Is Cool, ­ntil Hackers Cut Your Brakes

When the history of the connected car is written, this week may go down as a pivotal moment for consumers worried about security.

Learning Through Computational Creativity
From Communications of the ACM

Learning Through Computational Creativity

Improving learning and achievement in introductory computer science by incorporating creative thinking into the curriculum.

Understanding the U.S. Domestic Computer Science Ph.D. Pipeline
From Communications of the ACM

Understanding the U.S. Domestic Computer Science Ph.D. Pipeline

Two studies provide insights into how to increase the number of domestic doctoral students in U.S. computer science programs.

Hickory Dickory Doc
From Communications of the ACM

Hickory Dickory Doc

On null encryption and automated documentation.

Permissionless Innovation
From Communications of the ACM

Permissionless Innovation

Seeking a better approach to pharmaceutical research and development.

Pluto Is Just a Baby Step For Humankind
From ACM Opinion

Pluto Is Just a Baby Step For Humankind

As it advances now beyond Pluto, the New Horizons spacecraft is sending back data from its historic encounter with the dwarf planet like a long sigh of relief.

The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car, Chapter 2
From ACM Opinion

The View from the Front Seat of the Google Self-Driving Car, Chapter 2

Summer is one of the most dangerous times of the year on U.S. streets, as many of us spend more time behind the wheel, heading out for long road trips or local...

A Team Member's View of All the Work on Earth It Took to Get New Horizons to Pluto
From ACM Opinion

A Team Member's View of All the Work on Earth It Took to Get New Horizons to Pluto

Science is hard and good science is harder—it takes persistence and tons of patience.

Passing Pluto
From ACM Opinion

Passing Pluto

Soon after the New Horizons spacecraft made its closest approach to Pluto, at 7:49 A.M. on Tuesday—seventy-two seconds ahead of schedule, after a nine-and-a-half...
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