Communications of the ACM
Reducing Digital Overload
Considering ways to curb screen time and build healthier habits.
From ACM NewsAn 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
As Cyberattacks Surge, Security Start-Ups Reap the Rewards
Investors have poured $12.2 billion into cybersecurity companies so far this year, nearly $2 billion more than the total for all of 2020.
From ACM News
QR Codes Are Here to Stay. So Is the Tracking They Allow.
Fueled by a desire for touchless transactions, QR codes popped up everywhere in the pandemic. Businesses don't want to give them up.
From ACM News
What Should Happen to Our Data When We Die?
Anthony Bourdain's A.I.-generated voice is just the latest example of a celebrity being digitally reincarnated. These days, though, it could happen to any of us...
From ACM TechNews
Will AI Grade Your Next Test?
Stanford University researchers have developed an artificial intelligence system designed to provide automated feedback to students taking the online Code in Place...
From ACM TechNews
No Soil. No Growing Seasons. Just Add Water, Technology.
Hydroponic farms are growing crops with innovative technologies, including machine learning algorithms, data analytics, and proprietary software, in the absence...
From ACM News
Constant but Camouflaged, Flurry of Cyberattacks Offers Glimpse of New Era
Once imagined as a new kind of warfare, government-linked hacking has instead become a widespread and perhaps permanent feature of the global order.
From ACM News
Bourdain Documentary's Use of A.I. to Mimic Voice Draws Questions
The documentary "Roadrunner" by Morgan Neville uses 45 seconds of a voice that sounds like Bourdain, generated with artificial intelligence. Is it ethical?
From ACM News
'The Market Is Insane': Cars Are Sold Even Before They Hit the Lot
A shortage of computer chips is keeping automakers from producing enough cars to meet rising demand. Used cars are scarce, too.
From ACM News
Why You Should Care About Your Right to Repair Gadgets
New legislation could simplify tech maintenance and make buying a new smartphone or computer the last resort.
From ACM News
Inside Facebook's Data Wars
Executives at the social network have clashed over CrowdTangle, a Facebook-owned data tool that revealed users' high engagement levels with right-wing media sources...
From ACM News
Tapping Into the Brain to Help a Paralyzed Man Speak
In a once unimagined accomplishment, electrodes implanted in the man's brain transmit signals to a computer that displays his words.
From ACM News
Hidden Costs, Flawed Training Plague the V.A.'s Huge Software Upgrade
A $16-billion effort to modernize health records at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs ran into major problems in its first installation, two watchdog reports...
From ACM News
Could Gen Z Free the World From Email?
"It's actually crazy how outdated it is." People born after AOL Mail was invented seem to prefer to communicate in almost any other way.
From ACM News
Fallout From Hack of City Law Department Could Linger for Months
One department official was reassigned, and lawyers still lack remote access to case files, leading to delays with lawsuits.
From ACM News
Game Over: Chinese Company Deploys Facial Recognition to Limit Youths' Play
Tencent Games says it has been using facial recognition to enforce China's rules on how much time people under 18 can spend playing video games.
From ACM News
Prominent Women Call for Tech Giants to Act Against Online Harassment
The signatories included the tennis champion Billie Jean King, and the actors Thandiwe Newton, Ashley Judd and Emma Watson.
From ACM TechNews
Crashes Involving Tesla Autopilot, Other Driver-Assistance Systems Attract Scrutiny
The U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration is requiring automakers to report crashes involving vehicles with advanced driver-assistance systems.
From ACM News
Top Fed Official Says Digital Currency May be the Money Equivalent of Parachute Pants
The Fed is expected to release a paper on the potential for a digital currency this summer.
From ACM TechNews
Musical Chairs? Swapping Seats Could Reduce Orchestra Aerosols
Researchers used a computer model to determine whether rearranging musicians could significantly reduce aerosol buildup on the stage of a concert hall.
From ACM News