January 2020 - Vol. 63 No. 1

Features

Opinion Editor's letter Jan 1 2020

Cracks in Open Collaboration in Universities

Universities and the interchange of scholars and students in international collaborations have long played an important role in knitting a fabric of human relationships and shared understanding. This fabric is fraying rapidly.

Andrew A. Chien

Computing Applications

Opinion Departments Jan 1 2020

Publish and Perish

Publishing one's paper at a prestigious conference has become the standard way to build professional credentials, yet the dominance of conference publication comes at a cost.

Moshe Y. Vardi

Computing Profession

BLOG@CACM Jan 1 2020

In Search of the Shortest Possible Schedule

Bertrand Meyer considers how to speed up software engineering.

Bertrand Meyer

Computing Applications

News Jan 1 2020

Multiplication Hits the Speed Limit

A problem "around since antiquity" may have been resolved by a new algorithm.

Erica Klarreich

Computing Applications

News Jan 1 2020

How the Internet Spans the Globe

The modern Internet is made possible by hundreds of thousands of miles of undersea cables.

Logan Kugler

Computing Profession

News Jan 1 2020

Will Deepfakes Do Deep Damage?

The ability to produce fake videos that appear amazingly real is here. Researchers are now developing ways to detect and prevent them.

Samuel Greengard

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

image from deepfake video of President Trump

Opinion Law and technology Jan 1 2020

Increasing Automation in Policing

Seeking the delicate balance between civil liberties and policing public safety.

Elizabeth E. Joh

Computing Applications

police officers examine wall-sized map display

Opinion Technology strategy and management Jan 1 2020

‘Platformizing’ a Bad Business Does Not Make It a Good Business

Transaction platforms link third-party applications and services providers with users.

Michael A. Cusumano

shipping paletts and pile of coins, illustration

Opinion Historical reflections Jan 1 2020

Von Neumann Thought Turing’s Universal Machine was ‘Simple and Neat.’: But That Didn't Tell Him How to Design a Computer

New discoveries answer an old question.

Thomas Haigh and Mark Priestley

Computing Profession

Opinion Viewpoint Jan 1 2020

Ethics of Technology Needs More Political Philosophy

Incorporating considerations of reasonable pluralism, individual agency, and legitimate authority.

Johannes Himmelreich

Computing Profession

Opinion Viewpoint Jan 1 2020

A* Search: What's in a Name?

A search for algorithmic answers returns unique results.

James W. Davis and Jeff Hachtel

Computing Applications

Practice Jan 1 2020

The Reliability of Enterprise Applications

Understanding enterprise reliability.

Sanjay Sha

Architecture and Hardware

Practice Jan 1 2020

Blockchain Technology: What Is It Good For?

Industry's dreams and fears for this new technology.

Computing Applications

clear blocks floating in night sky, illustration

Practice Jan 1 2020

Space Time Discontinuum

Combining data from many sources may cause painful delays.

Pat Helland

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Contributed articles Jan 1 2020

Dependability in Edge Computing

Edge computing holds great promise, and almost as many challenges in deployment.

Saurabh Bagchi, Muhammad-Bilal Siddiqui, Paul Wood, and Heng Zhang

Architecture and Hardware

person holds smartphone with 'Done' displayed on screen

Research and Advances Review articles Jan 1 2020

Techniques for Interpretable Machine Learning

Uncovering the mysterious ways machine learning models make decisions.

Mengnan Du, Ninghao Liu, and Xia Hu

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Research and Advances Review articles Jan 1 2020

Mastering Concurrent Computing through Sequential Thinking

A 50-year history of concurrency.

Sergio Rajsbaum and Michel Raynal

Computing Applications

Research and Advances Research highlights Jan 1 2020

Technical Perspective: Is There a Geek Gene?

"Evidence that Computer Science Grades Are Not Bimodal" uses empirical methods to determine if belief in innate differences may explain why CS teachers see a bimodality in grades.

Mark Guzdial

Computing Profession

Research and Advances Research highlights Jan 1 2020

Evidence That Computer Science Grades Are Not Bimodal

There is a common belief that grades in computer science courses are bimodal. We devised a psychology experiment to understand why CS educators hold this belief.

Elizabeth Patitsas, Jesse Berlin, Michelle Craig, and Steve Easterbrook

Computing Profession

Opinion Last byte Jan 1 2020

Feedback for Foxes

Searching for the best strategy for shifty maneuvers.

Dennis Shasha

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