Communications of the ACM
Innovation Is Overrated: A Provocation
Digital innovation is not working in the interest of the whole of society. It is time to radically rethink its purpose without…
From ACM Opinion
Okcupid's Xoxo For Big Surveillance
Christian Rudder is a good writer—so good, in fact, it's easy for readers of Dataclysm: Who We Are (When We Think No One’s Looking) to be smitten by his engaging...
From ACM Opinion
Isaac Asimov Mulls 'how Do People Get New Ideas?'
In 1959, I worked as a scientist at Allied Research Associates in Boston.
From ACM Opinion
In Conversation Marc Andreessen
It's not hard to coax an opinion out of Marc Andreessen.
From ACM Opinion
To Siri, With Love
Just how bad a mother am I? I wondered, as I watched my 13-year-old son deep in conversation with Siri.
From ACM Opinion
The Holder of Secrets
From the garden terrace of a sixth-floor walkup on a quiet Berlin street, there was a clear view to the TV Tower, in Alexanderplatz.
From ACM Opinion
Fbi Director on Privacy, Electronic Surveillance
James Comey, the director of the FBI, says the Internet is the most dangerous parking lot imaginable.
From ACM Opinion
How Big Data Algorithms See s—while They Eat S p
Four years ago I interviewed Sam Yagan, then CEO of OKCupid, about the mathematics underlying his free matchmaking site.
From ACM Opinion
The Adultery Arms Race
Jay's wife, Ann, was supposed to be out of town on business.
From ACM Opinion
The August Smart Lock Shows Why You Should Stick With Dumb Keys
You almost certainly don't need a digital smart lock for your front door.
From ACM Opinion
Why Germans Are Afraid of Google
These days Germany is known for being many things: a leader in clean technology, a manufacturing powerhouse, Europe's foreign policy center.
From ACM Opinion
Find Out What Your Zip Code Predicts You'll Buy
Where you live says a lot about you—and nobody knows that better than marketeers. Now, though, you can take a glimpse at what they know, using this searchable map...
From ACM Opinion
5 Insights from Vint Cerf on Bitcoin, Net Neutrality and More
When Vint Cerf, often called the "father of the Internet," is speaking, it's wise to listen.
From ACM Opinion
Google's Schmidt Fires Back Over Encryption
To hear Google Inc. Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt tell it, the U.S. government has only itself to blame for new efforts by Google and Apple Inc. to keep police...
From ACM Opinion
The Myth of the Lone Genius
The computer and the Internet are among the most important inventions of our era, but few people know who created them.
From ACM Opinion
Should We Tailor Difficulty of a School Text to Child's Comfort Level or Make Them Sweat?
"A man who traveled from Liberia to visit family members in Texas tested positive for Ebola on Tuesday, marking the outbreak's first diagnosis outside of Africa...
From ACM Opinion
The Planning Machine
In June, 1972, Ángel Parra, Chile’s leading folksinger, wrote a song titled "Litany for a Computer and a Baby About to Be Born."
From ACM Opinion
Your Phone Screen Just Won the Nobel Prize in Physics
You've probably got the fruits of this year’s Nobel laureates' handiwork in your pocket. In fact, if you're reading this on your phone or a relatively recent flat...
From ACM Opinion
Can Virtual Reality Make You a Better Person?
"This is already so real, I don’t know if I even want to do this anymore," I say out loud.
From ACM Opinion
The Nsa and Me
The tone of the answering machine message was routine, like a reminder for a dental appointment. But there was also an undercurrent of urgency.
From ACM Opinion