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 News
Finally, the First Room-Temperature Superconductor
It conveys electricity in the climate of a crisp fall day, but only under pressures comparable to what you'd find closer to Earth's core.
From ACM News
Fix, or Toss? The ‘Right to Repair’ Movement Gains Ground
Both Republicans and Democrats are pursuing laws to make it easier for people to fix cellphones, cars, even hospital ventilators. In Europe, the movement is further...
From ACM News
Schools Clamored for Seesaw’s App. That Was Good News, and Bad News.
It wasn't simple to become a do-it-all education tool almost overnight.
From ACM News
Driverless Cars Go Humble to Get Real
Recent developments point to promise for driverless car technology, if we stay realistic.
From ACM TechNews
The Police Can Probably Break Into Your Phone
Washington DC-based nonprofit Upturn found law enforcement officials regularly break into encrypted smartphones, and police in all U.S. states have phone-hacking...
From ACM News
The Future of Hotel Design
Mobile guest rooms, enhanced contactless room controls, robotic servers, and pop-up dining areas are a few of the ideas hotel designers are considering for the...
From ACM News
Facebook Widens Ban on Political Ads as Alarm Rises Over Election
Political ads will be banned indefinitely after polls close on Nov. 3 and the company plans new steps to limit misinformation about the results.
From ACM News
Pentagon Is Clinging to Aging Technologies, House Panel Warns
Despite the Pentagon's talk of embracing quantum computing and artificial intelligence, the politics of killing off old weapons systems is so forbidding that the...
From ACM News
In Isolating Times, Can Robo-Pets Provide Comfort?
As seniors find themselves cut off from loved ones during the pandemic, some are turning to automated animals for company.
From ACM News
Computers Can't Cut Red Tape
Modernizing government technology can be helpful during a crisis. To a point.
From ACM News
The Lesson We’re Learning From TikTok? It’s All About Our Data
We should minimize how much we share with all of our favorite and not-so-favorite apps.
From ACM News
With Virtual Reality, Caregivers Can Become Patients
Carrie Shaw's struggle with her mother's dementia led her to create a company that allows users to experience the struggles of growing older.
From ACM News
For Quick Coronavirus Testing, Israel Turns to a Clever Algorithm
Inspired by a mother's question, the new method will be introduced across Israel this fall, just in time for flu season, and could be coming soon to the U.S.
From ACM TechNews
Tech Firms Broaden Group to Secure U.S. Election
Facebook, Google, and other major technology firms Wednesday announced an expansion of their coalition to secure the November U.S. presidential election, and met...
From ACM TechNews
How a Historian Stuffed Hagia Sophia's Sound Into a Studio
Researchers at Stanford University were able to capture the acoustics of the Hagia Sophia, prior to the Byzantine cathedral in Istanbul being rededicated as a Muslim...
From ACM News
For Robots, It’s a Time to Shine (and Maybe Disinfect)
The pandemic has turned cleaning and other mundane building tasks into a challenge, stoking interest in machines as cost-effective solutions.
From ACM TechNews
Aboard the Diamond Princess, a Case Study in Aerosol Transmission
Researchers are using computer models to determine how the coronavirus moves through a community, building, or small group of people.
From ACM News
This Tool Could Protect Your Photos From Facial Recognition
Researchers at the University of Chicago want you to be able to post selfies without worrying that the next Clearview AI will use them to identify you.
From ACM News
The Star of This $70 Million Sci-Fi Film Is a Robot
Meet Erica, an android believed to be Hollywood's first fully autonomous artificially intelligent actor. Can she overcome the uncanny valley?
From ACM News