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
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...
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?
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...
From ACM Opinion
We Need More Cameras, and We Need Them Now
On Thursday afternoon, the FBI released photos and video of two persons of interest in the Boston Marathon bombing.
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...
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?
From ACM Opinion
The Greatest Trick the Government Ever Pulled Was Convincing the Public the 'hacker Threat' Exists
The U.S. government is already fighting wars on several fronts, including the perpetual War on Terror.
From ACM Opinion
How New Military Technologies Can Help Prevent the Next Boston or Newtown
This week, it's bombs. In December, it was guns.
From ACM Opinion
Bitcoin: Whatever It Is, It's Not Money!
When governments undermine faith in their currencies people turn to alternatives.
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?
From ACM Opinion
Google Chief rges Action to Regulate Mini-Drones
The influential head of Google, Eric Schmidt, has called for civilian drone technology to be regulated, warning about privacy and security concerns.
From ACM Opinion
Proceed with Caution Toward the Self-Driving Car
Driving on Interstate 495 toward Boston in a Ford Fusion one chilly afternoon in March, I did something that would've made even my laid-back long-ago driving instructor...
From ACM Opinion
Will Bitcoins Make Me Rich?
Let me begin this column with a lengthy disclosure. One morning last week, I stopped at my bank, filled out a withdrawal slip for $1,027.51, and walked away with...
From ACM Opinion
If You Hate Red-Light Cameras, You'll Really Hate Speeding Ticket Robots
Four academics from West Point and Samford University in Alabama set out to answer a seemingly simple question: how would one write a computer program to issue...
From ACM Opinion
Cyber Education Key to Security
Today, cyberspace is woven into the fabric of our daily lives.
From ACM Opinion
Twitter, Hate Speech, and the Costs of Keeping Quiet
Last month was a bittersweet seventh birthday for Twitter.
From ACM Opinion
The Future of Surveillance Will Turn Society Into a Massive Online Game
No matter what the future may contain, one thing is certain: just about everything in it, including us, will increasingly be under surveillance.
From ACM Opinion
The Bitcoin Bubble and the Future of Currency
A few days ago, the value of all the bitcoins in the world blew past $1 billion for the first time ever. That’s an impressive achievement, for a purely virtual...
From ACM Opinion
You'll Never Believe the Data 'wiped' Smartphones Store
Few things are more precious, intimate, and personal than the data on your smartphone.
From ACM News