Communications of the ACM
Organizing Unstructured Data
Vector databases, commonly used for similarity search and product recommendations, are a shining light in the era of Artificial… 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.
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Europe's New Law Will Force Secretive TikTok to Open Up
The Digital Services Act will extract more new information from the young app than from older platforms like Facebook.
From ACM TechNews
Scientists Spy on Mount Etna with Fiber-Optic Cables
Scientists are monitoring Italy’s Mount Etna through fiber-optic cables, using distributed acoustic sensing to detect seismic signals that conventional sensors...
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Europe Is Building a Huge International Facial Recognition System
Lawmakers advance proposals to let police forces across the EU link their photo databases—which include millions of pictures of people's faces.
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How Wrongful Arrests Based on AI Derailed 3 Men's Lives
Robert Williams, Michael Oliver, and Nijeer Parks were misidentified by facial recognition software. The impact cast a long shadow.
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The Hidden Role of Facial Recognition Tech in Many Arrests
The technology is spreading fast among police, and often wrong. But people charged with crimes are rarely told an algorithm came into play.
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War Is Calling Crypto's 'Neutrality' Into Question
War in Ukraine and Western sanctions against Russia have made cryptocurrency a hot potato for international politics.
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Google's New Tech Can Read Your Body Language—Without Cameras
The company's ATAP research team is using radar to help computers respond to your movements, like turning off a TV if it senses you've dozed off.
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The Quiet Way Advertisers Are Tracking Your Browsing
Cookies are on the way out—but not enough is being done about browser fingerprinting. So what is it?
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China Is About to Regulate AI—and the World Is Watching
Sweeping rules will cover algorithms that set prices, control search results, recommend videos, and filter content.
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New Database Reveals How Much Humans Are Messing With Evolution
Some animals and plants are rapidly adapting to our warming, polluted world. How alarming that is depends on your perspective.
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See Little Robots Get Swole in This Virtual 'Gym'
The bizarre robots look like cobbled-together Tetris pieces. A new system "evolves" them to run, climb, and throw stuff better.
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Meet the Cyberpunk Albatrosses Scanning for Secret Explosions
Acoustic waves can detect all kinds of explosions and volcanic activity, but it's hard to place sensors at sea—unless you've got a bird with a backpack.
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How Supercomputers Can Help Fix Our Wildfire Problem
Fires spread with a complexity that scientists can pick apart little by little, thanks to lasers, sensors, and some of the most powerful computers.
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It's Not Easy to Control Police Use of Tech—Even With a Law
A key backer of a 2018 Oakland law to rein in tools like automated license plate readers says the city is not following the rules.
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How an Algorithm Blocked Kidney Transplants to Black Patients
A formula for assessing the gravity of kidney disease is one of many that is adjusted for race. The practice can exacerbate health disparities.
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John Deere Doubles Down on Silicon Valley and Robots
Farm-equipment giant is buying Bear Flag Robotics, which makes autonomous tractors
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Controversial Tool Calls Out Thousands of Hackable Websites
PunkSpider is back, and crawling hundreds of millions of sites for vulnerabilities.
From ACM TechNews
Rats Took Over This Pacific Island. Now Drones Are Leading the Fightback
The conservation group Island Conservation plans to use drones to try to eliminate rats on Tetiaroa atoll and two other islands in French Polynesia, beginning in...
From ACM TechNews
Algorithm That Predicts Deadly Infections Is Often Flawed
An algorithm designed to forecast sepsis infections is significantly lacking in accuracy.
From ACM News