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
'rise of the Robots' and 'shadow Work'
In the late 20th century, while the blue-collar working class gave way to the forces of globalization and automation, the educated elite looked on with benign condescension...
From ACM Opinion
Why Nsa Surveillance Is Worse Than You've Ever Imagined
Last summer, after months of encrypted emails, I spent three days in Moscow hanging out with Edward Snowden for a Wired cover story.
From ACM Opinion
Why the Ruling Against the Nsa's Phone Records Program Could Have Huge Implications
A federal appeals court ruling that the National Security Agency's collection of millions of Americans' phone records is illegal could undercut more than just that...
From ACM Opinion
Does Artificial Intelligence Pose a Threat?
After decades as a sci-fi staple, artificial intelligence has leapt into the mainstream.
From ACM Opinion
The Illegal Phone-Data Sweeps
There is a lot to praise in the powerful ruling issued by a three-judge federal appeals panel in New York on Thursday, which held that the government's vast, continuing...
From ACM Opinion
The Void's Creator Details His Vision For nleashing Virtual Reality's Full Potential
In a 60-by-60-foot room in Salt Lake City, Ken Bretschneider is taking virtual reality experiences to another level.
From ACM Opinion
Are We to Become Gods, the Destroyers of Our World?
In the stylish new sci-fi thriller Ex Machina, Frankenstein's old theme re-emerges in a beautifully designed setting: Instead of the Gothic castle we have a spectacular...
From ACM Opinion
Concerns of an Artificial Intelligence Pioneer
In January, the British-American computer scientist Stuart Russell drafted and became the first signatory of an open letter calling for researchers to look beyond...
From ACM Opinion
40 Busy Years Later, a Microsoft Founder Considers His Creation
Looking at Microsoft’s sprawling product line and 118,000 or so employees, it’s easy to forget that the company started with one modest product made by two ambitious...
From ACM Opinion
Quantum Computers Will Make Your Laptop Look Like an Abacus
The race to make the first quantum computer is becoming as important as the race 75 years ago to get the first nuke. It could change the balance of power in politics...
From ACM Opinion
The Hidden Politics of Video Games
Imagine that video games had been invented in the Middle Ages.
From ACM News
Brace Yourself: Microsoft Wants to Guess How Old You Are
Like a distant relative who makes you feel bad at the annual holiday get together, Microsoft has created a website that analyzes a photo of a person's face and...
From ACM Opinion
Eff at 25: Remembering the Case that Established Code as Speech
One of EFF's first major legal victories was Bernstein v. Department of Justice, a landmark case that resulted in establishing code as speech and changed United...
From ACM Careers
Facebook Is Eating the Internet
Facebook, it seems, is unstoppable. The social publishing site, just 11 years old, is now the dominant force in American media.
From ACM Opinion
Statistics: P Values Are Just the Tip of the Iceberg
There is no statistic more maligned than the P value.
From ACM Opinion
You Can't Backdoor a Platform
According to law enforcement and intelligence agencies, encryption should come with a backdoor.
From ACM Opinion
Mercury Mission Set to End with Dramatic Crash
On 30 April, after more than four years in orbit around Mercury, NASA's MESSENGER probe will plunge to its doom.
From ACM Opinion
Preparing For Warfare in Cyberspace
The Pentagon’s new 33-page cybersecurity strategy is an important evolution in how America proposes to address a top national security threat. It is intended to...
From ACM Opinion
The Future of Sex: It Gets Better
When I was 10 years old, my friend Sarah and I found a newly minted copy of "The Joy of Sex" under her parents' bed.
From ACM Opinion