acm-header
Sign In

Communications of the ACM

Recent Opinion


bg-corner

The Medium of the Moment
From ACM Opinion

The Medium of the Moment

After the Boston Marathon bombings, the process by which breaking news and information are generated and disseminated looked more ragged and exposed than ever: ...

How Boston Police Won the Twitter Wars During the Marathon Bomber Hunt
From ACM Opinion

How Boston Police Won the Twitter Wars During the Marathon Bomber Hunt

The first official announcement that law enforcement agencies had concluded their manhunt for Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev didn't come at a...

How Ray Kurzweil Will Help Google Make the ­ltimate AI Brain
From ACM Opinion

How Ray Kurzweil Will Help Google Make the ­ltimate AI Brain

Google has always been an artificial intelligence company, so it really shouldn't have been a surprise that Ray Kurzweil, one of the leading scientists in the field...

Apple's Next Big Thing
From ACM Opinion

Apple's Next Big Thing

The iPad has always labored under the shadow of its little brother the iPhone.

Moving from Petaflops to Petadata
From Communications of the ACM

Moving from Petaflops to Petadata

The race to build ever-faster supercomputers is on, with more contenders than ever before. However, the current goals set for this race may not lead to the fastest...

The Science in Computer Science
From Communications of the ACM

The Science in Computer Science

Computer science is in a period of renaissance as it rediscovers its science roots.

Human-Centered Computing
From Communications of the ACM

Human-Centered Computing: A New Degree For Licklider's World

Combining computing and psychology, J.C.R. Licklider's prescient ideas are being applied in contemporary educational settings.

Max Newman
From Communications of the ACM

Max Newman: Forgotten Man of Early British Computing

Reflections on a significant, yet often overlooked, computing pioneer.

Fair Use in Europe
From Communications of the ACM

Fair Use in Europe

Examining the mismatch between copyright law and technology-influenced evolving social norms in the European Union.

Google Execs Say 'the Power of Information Is ­nderrated'
From ACM Opinion

Google Execs Say 'the Power of Information Is ­nderrated'

"We fear that the natural action for, in particular, autocratic governments experiencing what we describe as 'virtual urbanization' will be to balkanize the Internet...

The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution
From ACM Opinion

The Dark Side of the Digital Revolution

How do you explain to people that they are a YouTube sensation, when they have never heard of YouTube or the Internet?

'total Noise,' Only Louder
From ACM Opinion

'total Noise,' Only Louder

Kids used to ask each other: If a tree falls in a forest and no one hears, does it make a sound? Now there's a microphone in every tree and a loudspeaker on every...

Geer, Thieme: Specialization and Institutionalization Have Transformed Security
From ACM Opinion

Geer, Thieme: Specialization and Institutionalization Have Transformed Security

Two elders of information security came to Source Boston 2013 Wednesday morning to encourage the next generation to grab the torch from them and to urge great caution...

Mars vs. Europa: Are We Looking in the Wrong Place For Alien Life?
From ACM Opinion

Mars vs. Europa: Are We Looking in the Wrong Place For Alien Life?

A British astrobiology conference has revived a years-old debate over the best place to look for life elsewhere in the solar system: Mars, or the moons of Jupiter...

Is High-Tech Security at Public Events Counterproductive?
From ACM Opinion

Is High-Tech Security at Public Events Counterproductive?

Which is more intrusive: security screening and metal detectors every few blocks, or a drone flying high above it taking video of every little thing you do?

How Pixar ­sed Moore's Law to Predict the Future
From ACM Opinion

How Pixar ­sed Moore's Law to Predict the Future

Whether you call it a data-driven prediction or think of it as a self-fulfilling prophecy, Moore's Law has been going strong.

Interview with Brain Project Pioneer: Miyoung Chun
From ACM Opinion

Interview with Brain Project Pioneer: Miyoung Chun

Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies (BRAIN) project, which President Obama announced in his State of the Union address in February, will...

Will Google's Ray Kurzweil Live Forever?
From ACM Opinion

Will Google's Ray Kurzweil Live Forever?

Ray Kurzweil must encounter his share of interviewers whose first question is: What do you hope your obituary will say?

Name-Brand Genes: Is Our Genetic Makeup What's Next in Personal Branding?
From ACM Opinion

Name-Brand Genes: Is Our Genetic Makeup What's Next in Personal Branding?

The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday in a case that could decide whether it's possible to patent specific human genes that have been "snipped" out of our DNA...

Human Genome, Then and Now
From ACM Opinion

Human Genome, Then and Now

Eight years of work, thousands of researchers around the world, $1 billion spent—and finally it was done.
Sign In for Full Access
» Forgot Password? » Create an ACM Web Account