Communications of the ACM
Researchers Develop Soft Robot That Shifts from Land to Sea with Ease
Soft robots developed by researchers at Carnegie Mellon University can transition from walking to swimming or crawling to rolling… From ACM TechNewsAn edited collection of advanced computing news from Communications of the ACM, ACM TechNews, other ACM resources, and news sites around the Web.
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The FBI Just Admitted It Bought US Location Data
Rather than obtaining a warrant, the bureau purchased sensitive data—a controversial practice that privacy advocates say is deeply problematic.
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Should Algorithms Control Nuclear Launch Codes? The U.S. Says No
A new State Department proposal asks other nations to agree to limits on the power of military AI.
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U.S. Border Patrol Finally Able to Check E-Passport Data
After 16 years, the agency has implemented the software to cryptographically verify digital passport data—and it's already caught a dozen alleged fraudsters.
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Audiobook Narrators Fear Apple Used Their Voices to Train AI
After a backlash, Spotify paused an arrangement that allowed Apple to train machine learning models on some audiobook files.
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Eric Schmidt Is Building the Perfect AI War-Fighting Machine
The former Google CEO is on a mission to rewire the U.S. military with cutting-edge artificial intelligence to take on China. Will it make the world safer?
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The Generative AI Race Has a Dirty Secret
Integrating large language models into search engines could mean a fivefold increase in computing power and huge carbon emissions.
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Fact-Checkers Are Scrambling to Fight Disinformation With AI
Bad actors use artificial intelligence to propagate falsehoods and upset elections, but the same tools can be repurposed to defend the truth.
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This Startup Is Using AI to Unearth New Smells
Google Research spinout Osmo wants to find substitutes for hard-to-source aromas. The tech could inspire new perfumes—and help combat mosquito-borne diseases.
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San Francisco Has Reversed Its Killer Robot Plan
The city rolled back a controversial decision to let robots use lethal force without human intervention. But the fight is far from over.
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A Row Erupts Over Texas' Bold Bitcoin Battery Plan
Bitcoin miners say they can help stabilize a shaky power grid and prevent blackouts. Experts say it will make the problem worse.
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The 'Viral' Secure Programming Language That's Taking Over Tech
Rust makes it impossible to introduce some of the most common security vulnerabilities. And its adoption can't come soon enough.
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The Sci-Fi Dream of a 'Molecular Computer' Is Getting More Real
Chemists have long conceptualized tiny machines that could fabricate drugs, plastics, and other polymers that are hard to build with bigger tools.
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Everything Apple Announced
Wednesday's iPhone launch event saw the release of four new iPhone models, plus an Apple Watch built to take a beating.
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Sloppy Use of Machine Learning Is Causing a 'Reproducibility Crisis' in Science
AI hype has researchers in fields from medicine to sociology rushing to use techniques they don't always understand—causing a wave of spurious results.
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Sloppy Software Patches Are a 'Disturbing Trend'
The Zero Day Initiative has found a concerning uptick in security updates that fail to fix vulnerabilities.
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Datacenters Are Facing Climate Crisis
With studies predicting more extreme weather in the coming years, datacenters need to be prepared.
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New Attack Can Unmask Anonymous Users on Any Major Browser
Researchers have found a way to use the web's basic functions to identify who visits a site—without the user detecting the hack.
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Cruise's Robot Car Outages Are Jamming Up San Francisco
In a series of incidents, the GM subsidiary lost contact with its autonomous vehicles, leaving them frozen in traffic and trapping human drivers.
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Will These Algorithms Save You From Quantum Threats?
Quantum-proof encryption is here—decades before it can be put to the test.
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'Supercookies' Have Privacy Experts Sounding the Alarm
Vodafone is among the German phone companies participating in the TrustPid trial.12