Communications of the ACM
An edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
From ACM TechNews
To Disinfect Police Car in a Pandemic, Software Cranks Up the Heat
Police departments in several U.S. cities are using updated software from Ford Motor that the automaker claims can kill the coronavirus.
From ACM News
App Shows Promise in Tracking New Coronavirus Cases, Study Finds
The app, which allows people to record their symptoms, was remarkably effective in predicting infections. The most reliable indicators, researchers found, were...
From ACM TechNews
This Was Supposed to Be the Year Driverless Cars Went Mainstream
The coronavirus pandemic has disrupted technology companies' plans to bring autonomous vehicles into the mainstream this year.
From ACM News
A Pandemic Benefit: The Expansion of Telemedicine
Medical practice over the Internet can result in faster diagnoses and treatments, increase the efficiency of care, and reduce patient stress.
From ACM News
An ESPN Commercial Hints at Advertising's Deepfake Future
With the pandemic having shut down production, companies are asking ad agencies to create commercials made up of digitally altered footage.
From ACM News
Will ‘Big Data’ Restore Active Managers’ Mojo?
Sophisticated tech used to gather and analyze information may be able to improve returns, but the data isn't showing it.
From ACM TechNews
Can't Scout Players in Person? The NFL Turns to Brooklyn Startup
The National Football League is using a startup's artificial intelligence technology to remotely scout prospective players during the coronavirus restrictions. ...
From ACM TechNews
Toward Computers That Teach Themselves
The artificial intelligence industry is experiencing a supervised learning revolution, as researchers teach computers to recognize patterns and learn from them....
From ACM TechNews
AI Helping Scientists Understand an Ocean's Worth of Data
Researchers have trained a neural network to distinguish humpback whale songs from other ocean noise.
From ACM TechNews
As Coronavirus Surveillance Escalates, Personal Privacy Plummets
Many countries scrambling to contain the coronavirus pandemic are deploying digital surveillance to control their populations.
From ACM TechNews
Restrictions Are Slowing Coronavirus Infections, Data Suggest
Data suggests that mass business closures and social-distancing edicts imposed to fight the coronavirus pandemic are helping reduce the numbers of fevers recorded...
From ACM TechNews
Facebook, Google, Twitter Struggle to Handle November's Election
Major technology companies have spent billions in the past three years to prevent election meddling, but new challenges are adding to their struggle in the run-up...
From ACM News
A.I. Versus the Coronavirus
A new consortium of top scientists will be able to use some of the world's most advanced supercomputers to look for solutions.
From ACM News
Bring in the Robot Cleaners: Travel Industry Innovations for the Pandemic
"Private" hotels, online tour-company teasers for future travelers, and other ways that travel companies are keeping their businesses alive.
From ACM News
There Is a Racial Divide in Speech Recognition Systems, Researchers Say
Technology from Amazon, Apple, Google, IBM, and Microsoft misidentified 35% of words from people who were black. White people fared much better.
From ACM TechNews
Abel Prize in Mathematics Shared by Two Trailblazers of Probability, Dynamics
Hillel Furstenberg of Israel's Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Yale University's Gregory Margulis share this year's Abel Prize in mathematics for trailblazing...
From ACM News
Cloud Computing Is Not the Energy Hog That Had Been Feared
The digital services churned out by the world's computer centers are multiplying, but their energy use is not, thanks to cloud computing, a new study says.
From ACM TechNews
A Growing Presence on the Farm: Robots
Agronomists are using new autonomous robots to help them breed better crops.
From ACM TechNews
Activate 'Bracelet of Silence' and Alexa Can't Eavesdrop
A prototype wearable device blocks microphones in the vicinity from eavesdropping on conversations.
From ACM TechNews